Tales of Obscura
by Benit149
Summary: An original Tales of... story that blends elements from multiple Tales games to create a unique adventure. Ten years after citizens of a dying world arrived on a new world to start over, trouble is already brewing beneath the surface. The one who will save them is a young woman who had lost her emotions, but not her desire to follow her mission. Who is she, and what is she after?
1. Silent Swordsman in Red

Hieizou.

It was the smallest of four countries occupying the continent of New Qlipott, situated in the far southern reaches where tropical weather met Asian influence and culture. Along the eastern coastline of Hieizou, the main aquatic channel, the Enten River, carried water from the ocean to the northeastern mainland. This was a popular spot for recreational fishing, but there was also a waterfall that people needed to be wary about. It was deep in the uninhabited forests and mountains of Hieizou that the citizens had not yet turned into farmland due to the population boon not happening within the near future. Not only was the slippery land around the waterfall dangerous, but there had been sightings of wild Eggbears and vicious prickleboars inhabiting the area. People began to call this area Enten Falls, and while it was a gorgeous sightseeing spot, no one believed anyone could possibly live there.

What they didn't know was that there was a well-hidden cavern behind the raging waterfall. It stretched for several miles underground, peppered with stalagmites that dripped water into tiny puddles like a soothing hymn. An underground pond had formed here due to eons of erosion within the bedrock, since Enten Falls actually had a hidden path where water could flow under the surface to reach here. While large fish couldn't fit through the path, smaller aquatic creatures like smelt and oysters could, and they provided this unknown pond with a rich habitat. The cavern walls glowed from bright patches of aqua-colored moss, and plenty of nori seaweed thrived here.

This was sufficient enough for someone to survive here, if they wanted to. And, as a matter of fact, someone _did_ call this place home.

Ever since a world-changing event called the Great Migration occurred 10 years ago, Enten River's sole resident had not stepped foot into the outside world. That was going to change today, as she stirred awake beneath her Eggbear skin blankets and stared at the pond. She then turned her gaze to her sword. It was an elegant piece of smithery, with the blade curved at the end like a talwar and the hilt embellished with a single golden wing and a sapphire gemstone.

" _Good morning,"_ a male's baritone voice echoed in her psyche.

She didn't reply. She wasn't startled by the strange voice, since she knew him all too well by now. She held her sword and mentally replied, _"Is today the day, Durandal?"_

" _Indeed it is. Ten years today… Such a long time when spoken in words, yet the emotions we carry make it feel like yesterday."_

" _The Great Migration's tenth anniversary…"_

" _Are you all right? I know that memory is a painful one for you."_

" _Don't mind me."_

The young woman stood up and sheathed Durandal into her velvet-covered scabbard. The glowing moss illuminated her expressionless features, and she used the perfectly still pond water as a makeshift mirror to inspect herself. She had shoulder-length chestnut brown hair, with a small portion of it tied up into a small ponytail with a blue bow. Her sidelocks were wrapped with red hair tubes to cover her ears, and she let the rest fall naturally. Her eyes were as crisp and blue as the gem on Durandal, yet lacked human vibrancy and came off as vapid.

She tousled her unkempt hair a few times, then mentally said to Durandal, _"It's not just an anniversary. You wanted me to train for this day, didn't you?"_

" _Are you afraid of leaving this place?"_

" _I'm not sure. I don't know what fear is."_

" _Oh, but of course. What a pointless question. Ever since then, you have forgotten what it is like to act human. I sometimes forget that myself."_

" _I am but a vessel, and the hand that wields you in battle. Emotions are not necessary for the mission that I have been prepared for. According to you, yesterday was the final day of my training."_

" _Yes. It has been long and hard, but now you have graduated as my trainee. Now we are comrades upon this road that we are to walk. It is time for us to leave this place and embark on our journey. I cannot foresee when we will be able to return here."_

" _You make it sound like I have some sort of attachment to this place."_

" _Do you not?"_

The young woman got up and walked toward a particular boulder that had an unusual slit cut deep within it. This was the rock where she first found Durandal and pulled him out 10 years ago. After a moment of contemplation, she replied, _"It's nice and quiet here. At least I don't have to deal with the overcomplicated affairs of human society."_

" _But you knew that this day would come. You had to be ready to face people once again."_

" _I know. I would like to say 'I'm not afraid,' but it's more like 'I can't feel afraid'."_

Durandal let out a despondent sigh. _"I often worry about how you will cope with fellow humans, especially with what happened back then…"_

" _Then give me instructions on how I should respond for now. Once I've accumulated enough experiences, I should be able to make sound judgments of my own."_

" _Very well. Once we leave the cavern, our first order of business should be to go to the town at the base of the mountain and scope out the situation. You should consider resting at the inn tonight to freshen yourself up – your appearance is absolutely awful, and people will react negatively toward your poor hygiene."_

" _They would understand once I've explained my situation."_

" _You musn't do that. Don't tell anyone that you have lived here alone for a decade. Make up a different story, like you're a traveler who hasn't been to town in a long while."_

" _Understood."_

" _And you need to get some better clothes. The ones you have are horrendously torn and unsuitable for harsh climate travel. You should bring those Eggbear pelts with you and barter them for a better outfit and some rations."_

" _Understood."_

" _Oh, and you should consider-"_

After patiently listening to Durandal prattle on about his suggestions and various bits of needless advice, the young woman tied the scabbard to her waist and wrapped up the bear furs into a package that she could carry. During this whole time, she had not actually said a word aloud. It wasn't like anyone was around to hear her anyway, so she was used to being quiet for days at a time. As she walked toward the entrance concealed by a raining torrent of water, the sound of vicious splashing echoed through the hollow cavern and drummed through her ears.

She stepped through the waterfall as if she were taking a cold shower, her hair and clothes now drenched. She had come through here numerous times to hunt, yet this time it was different. She was leaving this silent, forgotten abode… perhaps for good. Yet the vacant-eyed young woman did not look back. She only moved one direction through life, and that was forward. It didn't matter if her destination was unknown now; she would just continue forward as always.

* * *

 **TALES OF OBSCURA**

" **Story of Facing Past Transgressions"**

Based off of Namco's Tales of… series

Written by Benit149

 **Chapter 1: Silent Swordsman in Red**

New Qlipott.

This was the name given to a beautiful blue planet full of lush nature and wildlife, untainted by human hands for countless years. That was until 10 years ago, when a historic event occurred dubbed the Great Migration. Back then, the original planet called Qlipott was on the verge of dying, and its final residents found a way to transport themselves from their world to this one. After the Great Migration was successful, the joyous pioneers gave the name New Qlipott to the world that embraced their fresh start.

The people were scared at first, for they didn't know what to expect from this uncivilized land. Fortunately, they brought their knowledge and technology with them, which enabled them to explore the land safely. Eventually, the people scattered all over what was discovered to be a large island continent and settled in small villages. They even carried their forms of government and distinct societies over, rapidly establishing four distinct countries that were each situated at a cardinal point.

To the west was Eikimi, a land revered for its peaceful citizens and gorgeous, untainted landscapes. To the east was Eikimi's ally, Sumizome. This was a nation that boasted tremendous technological advances, and was the largest country of the four due to its rapid development attracting people from all over the continent. To the south was Hieizou, the aforementioned smallest of the countries, but it maintained autonomy by basking in booming fishing and tourism economies. Finally to the north was Kitanosawa, a land reserved for non-human races who wished not to intermingle with humans. In 10 short, very fast-paced years, New Qlipott's fledgling citizens re-established themselves upon this vast continent. Already, people were dreaming of being the first to fully explore and map the continent, or to sail to the outer worlds, or to discover all sorts of new species of flora and fauna. They wanted to mark their place in this new world's history, and sometimes that caused friction between such starry-eyed explorers.

Yet, their squabbles were nothing compared to the true darkness lurking within the shadows that the Great Migration brought with these people. After all, no matter what world humanity's story took place, human flaws and emotions would always follow them. As hope was being planted in New Qlipott's soils, despair likewise found a way to sneak in, and it wouldn't be long before their toxic fruit began to poison everyone. Even after just a decade, the very first signs of trouble were beginning to be apparent…

* * *

As said before, Enten River ran along from the eastern shores of Hieizou and flowed westward inland, bringing with it bountiful harvests of fish and marine life. The primary town that had been founded along the river was Kawabata, situated on the river's west side so that it would be easy for the Yotsuda Steam Line to access from western Hieizou and the northern countries. Many residents of Kawabata actually didn't want to leave their quaint little town, so Yotsuda was primarily utilized for shipping fish to other locales, as well as bringing curious tourists in.

On this day, a young man arrived in Kawabata via the Yotsuda Line, and he disembarked in a particularly foul mood. He stretched a few times and grumbled, " _Finally_. Riding all the way here from Eikimi with no stops is a lot harder than they realize. Honestly, couldn't they shell even a little more gald for me to take a pit stop? This is supposed to be 'an important job', yet they're treating me like crap. And sleeping in that bloody train is freakin' impossible. How's a boy supposed to be in top shape to do the job if he can't get his beauty sleep? Jeez…"

After ranting out his monologue, the man looked around in his satchel and found his passport to show to the lone ticket attendant. The employee stared at him with a clearly befuddled expression for a moment, which made the already irate passenger lose his patience and demand, "What? Something on my face?"

"Oh, no! Nothing at all! Let's see here… Melvin Dengon, soldier of the Eikimi Royal Army."

"Yep."

"Mm-hmm… Mm-hmm… Yes, everything checks out. Welcome to Kawabata, Mr. Dengon."

"Could've spared me the leering glance there, bub."

"I-I'm sorry for my rudeness, sir. It's just that… Well, I'm not used to seeing a dark elf. Even in Kitanosawa, meeting one is very rare…"

Melvin sighed. Despite his attitude, he was used to humans staring at him. Indeed, he wasn't human himself, but rather a sub-class of elves called a dark elf. Meeting an elf was in itself rare for humans, so seeing a dark elf was assumed to be a hundred times rarer. Melvin took it in stride however; he was here on business, not to be made into a sideshow freak.

As he exited the station, he took out a fine comb and brushed his knee-length lavender hair to straighten out any knots. The bright locks greatly contrasted his dark tan skin, long elven ears, and bug-like eyes that had black sclera and purple irises. He wore a white and black bandanna around the top of his head, a torn purple vest held together with string, purple hakama, and plain sandals. He had a pair of belts wrapped around his waist that held up two hand axes against his rear. He also had a distinct tattoo of random squares and dots running down the right side of his cheek, torso, and leg. One look at him and anyone would think he was a punk from the wrong side of the community, but he wasn't a bandit or criminal of any sort – not when his employer was Eikimi's royalty.

What was a soldier of another country's military doing in a different country, one might ask? From how gladly Melvin was welcomed into Kawabata, it was safe to say that Hieizou had good political relations with Eikimi. So long as Hieizou traded its abundant resources, Eikimi would send in patrols on a regular basis to protect the citizens from crime, since Hieizou's small-scale military was barely about to take care of its capital city at the southernmost tip of the continent. A tiny hamlet like Kawabata stood no chance if any bandits or criminals tried to cause trouble for the citizens. That was why Melvin had come; to act as security for the town until his relief arrived.

He sat upon a tree stump and unpocketed a wax-sealed envelope with the sigil of Eikimi stamped into the wax. He had been ordered not to open it until he arrived in Kawabata, so his curiosity kept nagging him like a bad itch during the entire train ride. This type of envelope was only issued to soldiers, always containing specific orders. Melvin had never received one of these before, so when his general gave it to him before disembarking, he was absolutely ecstatic with anticipation. It symbolized some sort of great trust that his superiors had in him, and he was both thrilled and worried about not letting them down.

 _Alright, Dengon. Time to open this sucker up and see what you have to do,_ Melvin told himself as he eagerly broke the wax seal and took the folded paper out.

* * *

It was approaching dinnertime when the silent girl from the wilds emerged through the woods and found the village at the base of the northeastern mountains; Kawabata, the quaint fishing village by the gently flowing river. Several boats were out on the water as the strongest men in the village fished with wide nets for bountiful catches, while the latest train out of Yotsuda Line chugged along the tracks in the distance, blowing a billow of steam out of its combustion engine and dissipating into the increasing sunset. Kawabata's women and children were in their homes, farms, or shops attending to daily business, but were preparing to wind down for the night.

The girl sighed, and Durandal mentally murmured, _"You must be exhausted. I told you numerous times to take a rest halfway down, but you wouldn't listen to me."_

" _If I did, we would have only reached here when it was dark. You wanted me to rest at the inn for the night, so I took the measures needed to follow that directive before the inn closed."_

" _As unreasonable as ever, I see. You won't get very far with people if you keep acting like that."_

" _Is that supposed to matter?"_

" _It will, as you shall soon see."_

She approached the town, equally disregarding anyone who gave her a friendly hello or stared awkwardly at her unkempt appearance. Indeed, compared to the neatly sewn clothes everyone wore, her brown dress and aged moccasins were tattered and barely wearable. She kept an Eggbear's pelt wrapped around her shoulders for warmth, but she needed to go somewhere to sell it and some other paraphernalia for money. After some exploring around the town, she eventually found the place she was looking for; a seamstress' small atelier.

A bell attached to the wooden door jingled, alerting the owner to her new guest. A woman in her early 40's called out, "Welcome! Can I help you with-? Oh my goodness!"

She gasped when she saw the visitor's shabby attire and exclaimed, "Aren't you cold in that!? The nights get real chilly around here, so you need to dress appropriately!"

The girl removed the bear pelt, then laid it on the counter along with her satchel of hunting-related items, then bluntly muttered, "I need to trade these for money and clothing."

"Oh? Well, let's take a look here."

The woman examined the goods, then held the fur and rubbed it against her cheeks in delight. She swooned, "My, my, my! This feels so lovely! Is this from the rare purple-furred variety of Eggbears? And you've got a couple of their eggs as well? Oh, and what is this knife? Isn't it made out of bone? Did you carve this yourself?"

The visitor didn't respond to the barrage of questions.

"Um… You wouldn't happen to be a hunter, would you, young lady?"

Still no response. She was patiently waiting for the exchange to be made.

"Excuse me? Are you all right?"

" _What are you doing!?"_ Durandal scolded his owner. _"Answer her!"_

" _But her questions seem redundant to reply to. It feels like a waste of my energy to answer such obvious inquiries,"_ the girl responded plainly.

" _It doesn't matter! This is what people call 'small talk'! It may not contribute to making the world a better place, but it helps get people to know one another!"_

"… Yes, I'm fine," she finally answered without any inflection.

"Are you really okay?" the woman wondered and took a closer look at her guest's face. "You look like you're about to fall asleep any minute now."

"I think I might."

"All right, I understand. You must've had a long day and want to go to bed, but you don't have any money to pay for the inn. Tell you what. I'll take care of your fee for tonight, and then tomorrow we can talk business. Does that sound okay?"

"Why would you want to pay for someone's room when you don't even know them? Isn't it the golden rule not to trust strangers?"

"I'm told that I'm a very good judge of character, and you don't look like the type who would harm others without reason. Otherwise you would have barged into the inn and forced Margey to give you all your money, like what those upstart punks have been doing across the country lately. Instead, you're going through the trouble of selling your goods for gald when you're so exhausted. Not to mention that these materials should fetch a decent price on the market, so you must be a great hunter of renown."

 _Pretty sound logic, I suppose,_ t _hough that 'great hunter of renown' part is hardly the case with me,_ the young woman thought.

"I'm about to close for tonight, so let me introduce you to Margey and get you set up for tonight."

The seamstress guided her visitor to the inn and took care of the fee, allowing the girl to get some much-needed rest.

* * *

Meanwhile, Melvin had read the sealed instructions, committed them to memory, and burned the papers with his fire magic to destroy the evidence. It was required for all recipients to perform this task so that royal orders would not be leaked to the public. He then spent the next few hours meeting up with the patrolman ahead of him and relieved them of their duties, followed by some walking around the town to inspect for anything suspicious. The only thing he saw of any particular interest was of the atelier owner guiding a squalid, expressionless girl wearing threadbare rags to the inn. Melvin had thought about asking them some questions, but figured that the older woman had everything under control.

It was getting very late when he yawned and rubbed his eyes, muttering, "Damn it. I think I'm reaching my limit…"

He headed straight for the bar and slipped through the door, which jingled from a bell at the top.

"Welcome," the bartender said, and Melvin took an empty seat.

"Rappig burger with Southern Sun Lager."

"Coming right up, sir."

As he waited for his meal, Melvin boredly rested his chin on his hand. Although he didn't want to divulge too many details of his secret orders, he still needed to probe the locals for information. He said, "I've actually heard some rumors while out on the road. Something to do with bandits roaming around the country."

"Indeed. Although Kawabata hasn't had any problems, I've heard of other small towns to the southwest of us having their stock stolen during the night. Tsuchiya in particular has been having the worst troubles lately, and some residents from there have actually moved here."

"What's been happening there?"

"Apparently there's been an outbreak of disease, but they've been having trouble getting the medicine they need."

"That's weird. Don't they live near a meadow that's famous for its wild herbs?"

"I really don't know more than that, but it's true that Tsuchiya has been shorthanded on help, especially with the more able-bodied citizens evacuating in droves."

"I see," Melvin mumbled and thought, _Maybe I should see about going there after I make sure things are okay here. Well, if it's herbs we're talking about here, the princesses might already be buzzing straight over there and sorting things out themselves. Heh heh heh…_

"Here's your food," the bartender said, and Melvin devoured his meal in record time. While he ate, the server asked curiously, "Why did you want to know about bandits anyway?"

"Just because I've never been to Hieizou before. I came here on the Yotsuda straight from Eikimi."

"I understand that you're a soldier for Eikimi's army, correct?"

"Yeah. I'm here on patrol, but if everything's going swell in this town, I might go check out what's up in Tsuchiya."

"It's reassuring to know that Eikimi has been sending capable people out to the boondocks like this. You never know when we could be taken advantage of by unsavory characters."

Melvin finished his meal and paid for it, then left the bar to check in at the inn for the night. He already had a room reserved for him, so he was easily able to just toss off his tattered vest and collapse onto the bed, dozing off at least 10 minutes later.

* * *

The following morning, the strange girl woke up and freshened herself a bit. It had been years since she took a proper bath, so it felt odd for her hair to feel so silky smooth after a good shampooing, and that her skin didn't always have to be so coarse and dirty. She stepped out and got dressed in her tattered rags for clothes, but she knew it wouldn't last much longer after she finished her business with the atelier. She departed the inn and returned to the workshop, where her benefactor was unlocking the door.

"Good morning, dear! How did you sleep?" the woman asked.

"Um… I'm not sure if my sleeping patterns are supposed to be important to you or not."

She chuckled amicably and replied, "If you can talk like that, then you must have slept like a log."

"What does it mean to sleep like a log? Logs don't even breathe, so how can they sleep?"

"It's a figure of speech. Haven't you ever heard of 'heart of gold' or 'eating like a rappig'? It's something like that."

"Can't say I have. If pure gold flowed through my heart, I'd be dead. And I don't even know what a rappig is."

"My, you haven't spent a lot of time around people, have you?" the woman's jovial manner slightly turned dour upon realizing the lack of a sense of humor the girl had. "Well, let's see if a new change of clothes can fix that for you."

They went inside, and the girl waited for the owner to go through her selection of clothes and find something suitable.

"Here, this would be perfect for you," she said, handing over a set of red and blue garments.

After changing in a private room, the hunter came back out and examined herself in the mirror. She was trying on a short red dress that had long puffy sleeves with ornamental white ribbons wrapped around the hems. On top of that, she had a blue vest with decorative pom-poms kept together with several belts around her underbust and waist. The skirt was stylized with several blue 'leaves' and buckles to make it resemble a blooming blue flower. She wore thigh-high black stockings and a pair of sturdy red shoes that matched the outfit. Although the red and white made her appear bright and dominant, the blue muted such loudness and, combined with her stoic expression, gave others the impression that she was some blood-stained sinner on a futile path of redemption.

"My! You really do make the clothes!" the seamstress beamed.

"Do I?"

"Of course! It's a brilliant mix of modern seaming techniques and historic Hieizouan culture, with fabric that won't tear for years!"

"How much does it cost?" the traveler asked, wanting to finish the sale as soon as she could.

"Well, let's see…" the woman used her abacus to do some calculations. "Those bear pelts you brought should be enough to cover it, so long as I jack up the market price when I bring them to Eikimi."

"Understood. Then if you will excuse me."

"Come again! If you need to trade any more of your materials, you know where to find me!"

She left the atelier and walked around town for a bit. Durandal said to her, _"It's good that you're better dressed now and have some money, but you'll need to find a way to make enough for the journey ahead. Look around in town and see if there are any small jobs you can do."_

She obeyed the sentient sword's suggestion and passed by the small farms carpeting the landscape with fields of vegetables and wheat. She spent the morning approaching each farm owner and asking if they needed any help from her, but they kept turning her down saying they had enough people. At lunchtime, she returned to Kawabata's business district and did the same with the armor and weapon shop. Again, she was turned away.

As she was heading toward the sundry shop however, she spotted a young woman in her late 20's causing a commotion with some irritated mercenaries. She heard the woman plead, "Please! I'll pay 1000 gald for the job! Please! I don't know who else to ask!"

"Sorry, lady. But we were just passing through to get some supplies for another job. We can't just cancel our contract with our current client," one of the mercenaries told her.

"We can tell one of our buddies about it in the next town, but we can't take on too many requests at once," his partner said.

"Oh, no… What am I going to do?" the woman trembled as the two men walked away.

The teenaged girl heard their argument and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Huh? Who might you be?"

"A traveler."

"Oh… I see you have a sword," the panicked woman noticed. "Then are you good at fighting?"

"I am. How come?"

"Last night, my husband came down with the flu, and my young daughter volunteered to get some medicine and soup from next door. But she didn't come back after an hour, so I went over to see if she was still there, but my neighbor said she had never even arrived!"

"So you're saying your daughter has been missing since last night?"

"Yes. This morning, some of my friends and I went into the forest to look for her, but we were so afraid of those bandits attacking us that we came back straightaway. Oh, Hailey…"

"What's this about bandits?" the vapid girl wondered.

"You don't know!? There have been thugs going around stealing goods from nearby villages. Everyone in Hieizou knows about it through word of mouth! The capital doesn't have enough manpower to send soldiers, so we're forced to rely upon Eikimi's assistance, but I've heard that they've been having problems of their own! We townsfolk are practically left to fend for ourselves!"

"I see. So it's open season on crime."

"I'm so scared. What if Hailey's gotten herself involved with those brigands?"

"You said you investigated the forests near here, correct?"

"We tried to, but we didn't get very far. It was pitch dark out there…"

"Understood. I'm familiar with those woods. If you are open to my services, I will investigate for you."

"You will!?" the anxious mother beamed. "Oh, thank you so much! I only have 1000 gald to spare, but if you need more, I'll see what I can scrounge up!"

"No, that should be enough."

* * *

" _What!?"_ Melvin shouted. "Someone's daughter went missing!?"

"Yeah," one of the mercenaries from earlier replied. "That woman was all over us trying to get us to search for her kid. But we already have our hands full with other jobs."

"Plus it was a cheap job anyway," his partner whispered, which earned him a sharp jab.

"Where is that woman now!?" Melvin demanded.

"She's the item shop owner's wife, so just around that corner."

The dark elf wasted no time dashing toward the place in question. He found the worried mother already in the process of hiring the unknown girl for the job, but he barged in and exclaimed, "Hey, are you the mom of that missing girl!?"

"Yes, I am," the woman said. "Who might you be?"

"I'm the patrolman they sent from Eikimi! Listen, you don't need to hire anyone. I'll take care of looking for your daughter, so just wait here and-"

"But…" she pensively glanced at the deadpan girl. "I already employed this young lady's services."

"D-Did you now…?"

He stared at her for a moment, noting how unenthusiastic she appeared. The woman continued, "She said she knows the forests very well, so maybe she could help you out, Mr. Soldier."

"If you say so," Melvin scratched his chin, then asked the quiet hunter, "You sure you know your way around here?"

"I lived around here for years," she said.

"Really?" the mother wondered. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"In any case, allow me to go ahead and search for your child. You said her name was Hailey?"

"Yes. She's only seven years old. She's a very good listener, so I can't imagine her running off into the woods on a mere whim. I'm afraid that something very bad has happened to her…"

"Understood. Then if you will excuse me."

The girl immediately headed straight for the outskirts of Kawabata, and Melvin followed her while imploring, "Hey, you really don't have to do this, if you don't want to. I can handle things just fine."

"I've already made a binding contract. I am obligated to perform my end of the deal to ensure that I earn enough capital for my upcoming trip."

"O-Okay… But I'm still coming with you. Since I'm on official duty, it's my job to do these sorts of dangerous tasks."

"Suit yourself."

Melvin grunted, realizing that he couldn't talk the stranger out of this. After several minutes of walking, they entered the forest running along Enten River, and she navigated her way through the otherwise confusing series of trees and shrubs with fluid dexterity without saying a word. Eventually, Melvin broke the tense silence between them by saying, "Now that I think about it, I didn't catch your name. I'm Melvin Dengon, a soldier for the Eikimi army."

The young woman didn't reply right away, which threw him off a little. Durandal mentally chastised her, _"Pay attention to people when they're talking to you."_

"… _Oh. Did he say something?"_

" _He wants to know your name."_

After the rather awkward silence, she faced Melvin and plainly uttered, "Krile." †

"Krile… what? Do you have a last name?"

"Oh… Shizumori. Krile Shizumori."

 _What an odd bird, this one,_ Melvin frowned. _Took her forever just to introduce herself._

"Anything else you need to know?" she asked. Although she was being blunt, he couldn't sense any kind of rudeness or hostility towards him. It was more like she just wanted the conversation to be over so she could get back to thinking about whatever she had in mind. Furthermore, she didn't react whatsoever to being in the presence of a dark elf, which brought shivers down the spines of practically everyone in Kawabata.

"Um… Well, how good are you with a sword?" Melvin nervously asked her.

"Good enough to have survived on my own for 19 years."

"Oh, so you're 19? I'm 21 myself. I don't get to meet people around my age that often."

"Neither do I."

"Uh…" he stuttered, wondering if she had trouble connecting with others like he did, or was just plain anti-social and avoided human contact at all costs. "So, what Thauma do you have?"

"Thauma?"

"Yeah. You know, those magic symbols you get branded with as a child?"

"…"

"Do you use yours often? Mine's an Efreet Thauma, so I use fire magic in my attacks all the time. When I'm not fighting though, I use my abilities for blacksmithing. I love the smell of molten steel and the thrill of pounding it into a weapon or tool that people will use. Once in a while, I use my flames to help light up people's stoves, though it gets annoying when it's the same people asking me over and over again. They really should learn how to start fires for themselves. Then again, I'd probably be out of work if I didn't get to do that, since they pay me good tips all the time… Ah, what a pain. I'm always complaining, then contradicting myself. I really need to stop making that a habit."

" _He certainly seems to enjoy the complaining part,"_ Durandal muttered.

Krile suddenly asked Melvin, "Could you stop talking and look for Hailey?"

"Ah, right," he uttered and scoured the abundant foliage for any clues.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

† - Krile's name is pronounced like 'creel'.


	2. Part of a Qlipottian's Identity

**TALES OF OBSCURA**

 **Chapter 2: Part of a Qlipottian's Identity**

Thauma.

It was the tool that made the Qlipottians' development on this new world grow so rapidly just 10 years after the Great Migration. Normally, establishing four distinct countries, building a vast four-way railway, and developing capital cities and small villages across the land would be impossible in such a short time. Without the power of the Thauma coursing through everyone's bodies, they would not have accomplished as much as they did. That was definitely something they had to bring with them during the Great Migration, as they felt they couldn't survive without those incredible powers.

Thaumae were intricate crests embedded on human flesh that channeled the forces of a particular worldly element or concept. Past research into this field of study – called Thaumaturgy, or the ancient world's word for Sorcery – discovered the existence of 10 elements that comprised each and every world, and that each one was ruled by a formless Great Spirit. The known elements and the Great Spirit that ruled over each one were as follows:

Undine, the genteel ruler of water and the kindest of the 10 Great Spirits; Efreet, the hot-blooded patron of fire; Sylph, the mischievous and unfettered guardian of wind; Gnome, the stalwart yet unmotivated seer of earth; Celsius, the fiercely cold-hearted maiden of ice; Volt, the unpredictable entity that controlled the equally untainted power of lightning; Rem, the saintly being who governed pure light; Shadow, the mysterious warrior who commanded the forces of darkness; Martel, the herald of bountiful nature, and by extension all things considered to be 'tangible'; and Lorelei, the wise warden of sound, music, and all things considered to be 'intangible'.

All of human society revolved around these deities, including even the 10 months of the calendar. Called the Decamensum Calendar, every lunar cycle lasted 30 days and were named in the order of the Great Spirits as listed above. Although some changes needed to be made to the calendar to adjust for New Qlipott's slightly different rotational axis around its solar satellite, the Decamensum Calendar largely remained intact. However, the years would be recorded differently, with events on Old Qlipott being designated as 'OQY', or 'Old Qlipott Year'. Likewise, New Qlipott's dates were written as 'NQY', and that 1 NQY was considered the Year of the Great Migration, from which all events on Old Qlipott ended and those on New Qlipott began.

Now in 10 NQY, it was considered the beginning of spring on Gnome 21. Both Old and New Qlipotts had an unusual worldly phenomenon where a particular element out of the 10 would permeate the air as invisible mana and take dominance for a brief time, and this month was the element of earth's turn to pervade the world's mana. This elemental mana influenced children who were born in that month, as it affected their newborn bodies and infused them with an affinity for that element, from which they would be branded with that particular Thauma when they were children. With that inborn elemental affinity plus the power of the Thauma, that person could control the element they were aligned with.

Note that it wasn't always a guarantee that, say, someone born in the month of Gnome would be 100% likely to gain a Gnome Thauma, but it boosted that likelihood to about 65 or 70%. That was why children always visited the nearest high-ranking Thaumaturge Bishop to discern the best Thauma for each child. Determining the child's elemental affinity and inscribing the correct Thauma allowed for their body to exist in harmony. It was considered both unwise and morally unethical to embed the incorrect Thauma, as the sigils were a lifelong bond that could never be removed. Therefore, the mismatch between inborn elemental affinity and Thauma could cause the child to be sick or frail for life. That was why the Bishops always took great care in determining each child's affinity; his counsel would mean the difference between a healthy and a miserable life for the child. By law, the Bishop would take full responsibility for the crime called 'negligent discernmentship' should he cause harm to the child through his advice.

New Qlipott's ability to permeate the world with a specific mana signature was the deciding factor for Old Qlipott's residents to move here. If they wanted to survive on a new planet with their existing magic system, they needed to find a world that was capable of facilitating it. Thaumae were the be-all, end-all benefactor for everyone. Without it, they would likely perish. With the 10 elements at everyone's command, New Qlipott's society could move on from the days of fear while living on a dying world.

That was why Melvin was so fixated on asking Krile what type of Thauma she had, followed by bragging about how he used his Efreet Thauma. When being introduced to someone, it was perfectly natural to ask two questions; "What's your name?" and, "What Thauma do you have?" However, their conversation about Thaumae had to be cut short to focus on searching for the missing girl Hailey, so he didn't get to hear her answer.

In the forest surrounding Enten River's easternmost entrance from the ocean, Melvin ambled around cautiously, not sure of where he was going or what to look for in what spot. On the other hand, Krile navigated her way through with the fluidity of someone who could walk through their own home with their eyes closed. Over the years she lived alone in that underground cavern, she had become extremely familiar with the placement of each tree, where the animal trails led, and finding good hiding spots from prey.

"Slow down, will ya!?" Melvin panted as he caught up to her.

She didn't pay much mind to him as she intently investigated some dead foliage. Caught on the tip of a jagged branch was a small tuft of pink fabric that had been torn from some clothing.

"Oh, nice find!" the dark elf complimented her. "That woman did say that Hailey was wearing a pink kimono with flowers printed on it."

"Yeah…" Krile murmured and rubbed the tiny cloth between her fingers. She looked around some more and found another piece of pink fabric caught between the frayed bark of a fallen log. She thought about the path she was finding these pieces and whispered, "I see…"

"What is it?"

"Just down this way is a small cavern."

"You think she went there?"

"That, or perhaps she was taken there."

"Taken?"

"Look at the mud here."

She pointed to a patch of wet dirt, where Melvin saw a large boot print clearly etched into the soft ground. He clenched his teeth and growled, "It's still fresh… Damn, this isn't looking good."

"Let's hurry."

Melvin followed Krile down the slope that was dotted with small trees that were showing the first signs of new leaf buds. It helped that there were more large footprints for them to follow. They had to wind their way past the seemingly random landscape, but they made it to the bottom where Enten River flowed a good distance from Enten Falls. The path was surrounded by a steep wall of rock littered with countless stones that had fallen off the side over the eons. Krile knew of a natural cavern around here that had been formed from erosion and, while not suitable for living, was decent enough for hiding.

"Hmm!?" Melvin stopped short and squinted. "Do you hear voices?"

"I do. They're coming from that grotto."

The duo found a fallen boulder nearby to hide behind, which gave them a good view of the inside of the cave. A group of about eight to 10 poorly-dressed men sat around a campfire and laughed amongst each other while eating some stew they prepared. A young girl, about six or seven years old, slept beneath some covers, and they could see the distinct pink kimono she was wearing. Melvin gasped under his breath, "That's her!"

"So she really was kidnapped," Krile whispered.

"Shit! They must be the band of brigands that have been menacing Hieizou's countryside!"

"Brigands?"

"Eikimi's been getting reports of thieves stealing goods throughout this country, but Hieizou's armed forces are only large enough to guard the capital way down in the south. The Shogun can't send spare troops to patrol the northern plains, so Eikimi has been cooperating under the condition that Hieizou trades resources such as food and wood with them. That's why I was dispatched here in the first place. But I didn't hear any reports of these bastards resorting to kidnapping! What the hell are they thinking!?"

Krile looked back at the crowd of grubby outlaws. One of the gang's underlings asked a balding older man, "Hey, how much do you think a little shrimp like this will fetch?"

"We shouldn't be hasty," the older man, apparently the leader, replied with a smug grin. "First we gotta get her out of the country. But if we play our cards right, we could either sell her to the Association for research purposes, or to one of Sumizome's nobles as a slave."

"Why would the Association want her? Do they need guinea pigs for something?"

"She doesn't have a Thauma engraved on her yet, and the Association has been interested in developing a method of getting around improper Thauma branding. The Thaumaturge Bishops have been getting in some hot water over lawsuits involving negligent discernmentship, so they've been paying handsome sums of money to the Association to look into this."

Melvin's black sclera widened into saucers, and he clenched his teeth in absolute fury. His body trembled as he snarled, _"Those scum-!"_

"What's the matter?" Krile asked, not really following the conversation. Before she could do anything however, the livid dark elf got to his feet and equipped a pair of twin axes that he had sheathed around his waist. He emerged from their hiding spot and ran straight for the criminals.

" _Hey, you lot!"_ Melvin screamed. _"You're not getting away with this!"_

"What the hell!? Who the devil are you, freak!?" one of the gangsters yelled.

"That's not important! You're all under arrest for abduction of a minor for organized crime!"

"Under arrest-!? Shit, it's one of Eikimi's dogs!"

"Hah! They only sent one mutt to do their dirty work for them!" the leader laughed. "Don't panic, dumbasses! As long as we kill this one guy, we can still get away scot-free!"

As the majority of the bandits wielded crude swords to face off against Melvin, one of the underlings scooped the sleeping Hailey up and began to run away from the impending battleground. He made the mistake of running towards the boulder where Krile was hiding behind, and she deftly emerged without any warning. He yelped in shock, allowing her to duck in with her weapon.

"Hnph!" she grunted.

"GAH!" the bandit yelped and fell forward after she slashed at his back. Krile caught Hailey beneath her arm and dashed away from a few arrows that a couple of archers aimed at her.

"There's another one!?" the leader shouted. "Damn, you won't get away from us!"

"Who said we were the ones running?" Melvin grinned and enchanted the intricate tattoo running down the side of his body, making it glow a fiery red as the power of Efreet flowed through his hands and into the twin axes. The blades suddenly emitted a bright red glow before being surrounded in an aura of flames.

" **Kaenrekkuu!"** he shouted and performed a leaping somersault while keeping his axes to the side. They twirled in a whirlwind motion and pummeled the bandit leader before he could react, stunning him with deep gashes and searing flesh. When Melvin landed, he continued with an onslaught of heavy swings, then spread his bandaged arms apart before thrusting forward with all of his strength.

" **Shishisenkou!"**

His raging energy produced a blazing lion's head that roared and practically devoured its prey, sending the now-unconscious thug sliding over the uneven terrain.

"Uwah! He totally creamed the boss!" one of the flunkies panicked, realizing that he and his posse were outmatched by this one man. "Run for it!"

"I don't think so!" Melvin screamed and took chase after the frightened thieves.

Meanwhile, Krile swerved around trees and through bushes to lose the archers who were pursuing her. With her vast knowledge of the surrounding area, she could easily outpace her pursuers and find a safe spot to lie Hailey down. The burlap blanket that covered the sleeping child was a deep brown color, so it was easy for Krile to disguise it beneath some dead leaves from the previous autumn. Once she secured Hailey's safety, she doubled back into the forest to confront the enemies, who had spotted and surrounded her.

"Give us the kid, woman!" a bow-wielding gangster demanded, pointing his arrow at her.

Krile ignored him and unsheathed Durandal from the velvet scabbard hung around her waist. The serious look in her deadpan eyes told the bandits that she would prefer fighting over talking. The archers enchanted their weapons with fire magic and let loose an array of flaming projectiles aimed directly at her. She allowed her mind to fall into a state of zen, canceling out all conscious thoughts and focusing on strengthening her senses. With an incredible control of her heightened senses, she could practically feel the chaos in the air and respond accordingly. Her legs seemed to carry themselves as she fluidly danced about to avoid the shots without suffering more than some scratches.

With an uncannily tepid expression of disinterest for the battle, Krile skidded over the grass and ran right for a brigand who had been completely caught off guard by his opponent's calmness. Her legs paced so quickly that they resembled miniature torrents of wind.

" **Kogahazan,"** she whispered, performing a two-slash move with the first swipe throwing the man up and cracking his bow into useless halves, then the second smacking him back to the ground. She landed with a seamless squat and searched for her next foe.

" _Krile, behind you!"_ Durandal mentally warned her.

She glanced back for a split second before jerking her head aside to narrowly avoid another fire arrow. She swiveled on her toes and swung the sword in an arc, chanting, **"Kajinken."**

A bright pink wave of energy swam across the grass and pounded the offending sharpshooter, dispersing into embers that resembled cherry blossoms. While he was stunned, she ran straight at him with blinding speed and did a dancing flurry of swings and stabs that finally knocked him out.

"Impossible! How the hell can she be this fast!?" one of the brigands yelped and tripped backwards on a loose branch, then tried to scramble away on his hands and knees. Krile immediately caught up to him and unleashed a jumping roundhouse kick that sent him spinning sideways.

"Son of a-! Does she have a Sylph Thauma!?" another man demanded. Once she laid her eyes upon him, he grit his teeth angrily and raised his rod, calling forth the power of his Undine Thauma.

" **Aqua Edge!"** he shouted and hurled a discus of pure water pressure at her. Unfazed, she darted towards it rather than away, which astounded the neophyte sorcerer. Suddenly, she executed a nimble cartwheel to avoid the spell and jumped right at him like a flying quiver.

" **Kuuchuu Kidoumai,"** she murmured and spun her body around like a top, extending Durandal out to act as a makeshift razor-sharp fan blade. The man's staff broke into pieces, and he flew backwards onto the ground in an unconscious heap. She finished the rest of her jump and landed gracefully on a large rock nearby.

Like a beast of prey, she looked around to see if there were any more enemies to deal with, but the remainder of them had fled while she was preoccupied. She opted not to bother wasting her energy taking all of them down, so she hurried back to where she had left Hailey in the tall grass. As Krile returned, she could see the brown blanket shuffle beneath the dead leaves, and the young child began to wake up.

"Huh?" Hailey moaned. "Where am I…? The forest…?"

"Are you okay?" Krile asked.

"Okay…? What are you talking about, miss?"

"Your mother is looking for you. Do you remember what happened to you last night?"

"Umm…" the child mumbled incoherently. "I don't know… I feel real sleepy for some reason… I woke up, but I wanna go back to sleep…"

" _She must have been drugged to sleep before being taken away,"_ Durandal deduced. _"That, or she probably was sedated just a short time ago."_

"Understood," the swordsman said. "Your mother asked me to bring you back to her, so get some sleep. You'll be back home the next time you wake up."

"Okay, miss…" Hailey yawned and closed her eyes, eager to fall back into a quiet slumber. Although Krile wanted to see how Melvin was doing, she also didn't want to leave the girl alone in a forest populated by wild animals. She figured her partner had things under control since he was a trained soldier, so she remained by Hailey's side and waited for Melvin to come looking for her.

About 20 minutes later, she could see the lavender-haired warrior running through the woods. He saw her nearby and called out, "Hey! You okay there!?"

"No issues to report. The child has been safely secured and is unharmed. How about your end?" Krile asked.

"Those guys were less than nothing. We better get back to Kawabata so I can arrange for the locals to arrest them."

Melvin hoisted the sleeping Hailey on his back in piggyback fashion, then the duo began to return to the town. He sighed and grumbled, "Damn. The way that guy was talking about the Association, he made it sound like this isn't the first time an unbranded child has been abducted."

"What is this Association thing you keep mentioning?" Krile asked.

"Unless it's some other organization I don't know about, then they were definitely talking about the International Thaumaturge Association."

"I'm not familiar with such a group."

"Can't be helped. They only have an academy in Hieizou's capital city, and even then it's the smallest of the four main chapters. They're basically schools for Thauma research, especially when it comes to finding practical uses and creating inventions. Everyone is able to attend if they want, but not only is the tuition ridiculously expensive, the Association obviously favors those who are actually able to cast high-level magic. That's why you see a lot of sorcerers in the upper brass – it revolves around birthright, rather than determination and hard work. Hell, you could practically treat it as a form of elitist government, although it's not attached to a particular country.

"Word around the grapevine is that the Association has been delving into some shady practices such as unethical research, taking bribes, and reviving old projects that were considered illegal back on Old Qlipott. I heard they want to look into applying Thaumae to weapons like swords and spears, but the royals of the old days completely outlawed it and executed anyone who tried to research it again. Maybe because this is New Qlipott, they think they can get away with whatever they want since the four countries are still in the developing phase and would be too busy to crack down on such activities."

" _A Thauma applied to a sword…"_ Krile said to Durandal. _"Isn't that basically what you're supposed to be?"_

" _Indeed. The scientists of old used to call such weapons 'Swordians' although it doesn't have to be limited to swords,"_ the sentient sword replied. _"I lost my original body many years ago and exist only as a Thauma. I did not wish to possess a human, so I branded myself upon this blade."_

" _Even if you aren't a manmade weapon, what would happen if people found out what you were?"_

" _Worry not. My Thauma cannot be seen by the naked eye, and I am keeping its true power dormant at all times. I expect you will not need my powers for regular encounters, although I cannot guarantee that will hold true for battles involving powerful enemies and other Great Spirits. Even so, the impenetrable bond that our souls share will not allow anyone to keep us separated for long."_

" _So it's basically a 'play it by ear' situation?"_

" _More or less. Continue as you are, but exercise caution at all times."_

" _Understood."_

As Krile and Durandal silently spoke to each other, Melvin kept going with his explanation, muttering, "I'm not saying the Great Migration was a bad thing, but it's made a huge mess out of keeping our politics civil while maintaining order with the public. There hasn't been much crime in Eikimi, Sumizome and Kitanosawa, but Hieizou's been really bad for nefarious activities like this. It wouldn't surprise me if the Association had a hand in this, but we haven't been able to find any kind of proof…"

"Oh, I see," Krile murmured boredly.

Melvin barked in astonishment, "'Oh, I see' my hide! Everyone knows about what's going on!"

"I've lived in this rural area for years, preferably away from society. I'm not familiar with how the world works outside of this forest."

"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow. "That must be why you're so damn good at fighting; you've been spending your life hunting wild game."

"Precisely."

"Geez, I can't even begin to imagine living alone in the wilderness like that. I'm an urban boy at heart. I'd go crazy if I didn't have people to talk to."

" _As if that hasn't been apparent enough,"_ Durandal quipped.

They made their way through the forest and reached the outskirts of Kawabata. A small crowd of residents awaited their return, with Hailey's mother and father seeing Melvin carrying their daughter on his back. They happily ran towards the tired warriors, and the elated father took the sleeping child while exclaiming, "Oh, by the gods! You two managed to find my daughter!"

"Yeah," Melvin nodded, but his expression turned serious as he said, "but she really was kidnapped last night."

"Kidnapped!?" the villagers yelped amongst themselves in worry.

"My partner and I managed to disarm the group responsible, but we don't have enough manpower to bring them here for questioning."

"Then I'll arrange for the strongest men here to capture them," the father assured.

"Hailey!" the mother sobbed and carried the girl in her arms. "I can't thank you both enough!"

"Hey, I was just doing my job," Melvin rubbed his nose both proudly and sheepishly. "It's Krile that you want to thank for doing her part."

"Yes, of course! Here, this is your payment," the woman said to Krile and handed her a small bag containing 1000 gald. "I wish I could offer more, but this was all I could salvage."

"This will be satisfactory," Krile said in a plain, business-like tone. "My work is done, so I would like to rest for now."

After the townsfolk showered the pair with gestures of appreciation, they were finally able to go to the bar and have a decent meal. While Krile quietly ate a large serving of grilled salmon, Melvin gobbled away on another rappig burger while mumbling between bites, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot… We were so busy dealing with those ruffians that I didn't get to hear your answer."

"Answer? To what?"

"What type of Thauma you have."

She paused, then put her utensils down and dabbed her lips with a cloth. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Isn't it natural for everyone to know which element they can use? It'd help with battle strategies if, say, I could pummel the bad guys with fire-based abilities while you could run circles around them by using the wind to increase your running speed. I assume you have a Sylph Thauma, right? No one can be that fast without one. Or maybe you have a Martel Thauma? You were pretty good with surviving the forest by yourself, so I bet you used its power to grow your own food."

"Well, that is…"

"Hm? What is it? Am I way off base?"

"No, it's just…"

Krile hesitated and asked Durandal, _"What do I say? I don't think any excuse I come up with will stop him from nagging me about this."_

The Swordian grumbled in annoyance, then muttered, _"If the 10 elemental Thaumae really have become this engraved into every Qlipottian's identity, then I suppose there's no choice but to tell him. It will be found out eventually anyway, so it'd be best to save ourselves the trouble."_

In response to Durandal's resignation, Krile said in her usual monotone voice, "To tell you the truth, I don't have a Thauma."

Melvin nearly choked on his food, so he had to pause to take in what she just said. "… Say that again?"

"I said I don't have a Thauma."

His alien-like eyes boggled in stupefaction. "What do you mean you don't have one!?"

"What else could it mean?"

"Er… Uh… What the hell!?"

"Is something wrong with me not having one?"

"Are you pulling my leg!? There's not a single person in the whole world who doesn't have a Thauma! They're, like, what makes a Qlipottian a Qlipottian! It's like saying you don't have eyes, or a stomach, or even a Spiria!"

Krile tilted her head curiously. "Are you saying that Thaumae are necessary for humans to survive?"

"Well, uh… Not necessarily to 'survive' like we need food, water and shelter… It's just become so commonplace for everyone except very young children to have Thaumae. They're what enhance your natural talents by imbuing your body with a specific element. Some people are even strong enough to manipulate mana to cast magic, while others like me enchant their weapons. Even if you aren't able to cast magic, you can still use Thaumae for practical things like moving earth with a Gnome Thauma, or generating electricity for devices that run on a Volt Thauma, or nurturing soil with a Martel Thauma. Heck, even the steam engine we use for travel wouldn't have been possible without Undine Thaumae being installed in the engines."

"So what you're saying is that they are tools of convenience that have become so ingrained in society that it is difficult to imagine life without them."

Melvin sheepishly scratched his head. "Well… I've never really thought of them in such terms… But I suppose that's not too far off either…"

"So would it be a problem if I ventured out of this town without possessing a Thauma?" Krile wondered.

"I wouldn't think so. You're still damn good with that sword, magical power or not. Just don't be surprised to see everyone reacting the same way I did when they find out. It's pretty much unheard of for an adult to not be branded with one."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The dark elf rubbed his chin and contemplated for a short while. "So you don't have a Thauma, and you've been living alone for a long time. Are you registered as a citizen of Hieizou? Maybe we could look you up and see-"

"Registered? What do you mean?"

"D'oh, by the gods…" he wearily slapped his forehead. "You're telling me that you have absolutely no records of yourself anywhere!?"

"Should I?"

Now he was getting downright frustrated with her complete ignorance about how the outside world worked. He growled and barked, "Are you kidding me!? I won't stand for this! You're gonna come with me and get your papers sorted out in Eikimi!"

"Why Eikimi?" she asked. "I'm supposed to be from Hieizou, aren't I?"

"You can always live there as an immigrant. Hell, I'd be happy to introduce you to my friends in Ran'u, Eikimi's capital city. Don't worry; I'll explain everything to them so that you can fit in without any problems. Besides, it'd be a damn shame to waste those talents of yours in a backwater hick town like this when you could be working as a fellow soldier! Just think! The two of us could become co-workers under Eikimi's royal family! We could go out on even more patrols like this together!"

" _Honestly. This fellow certainly has a penchant for thrusting his future dreams upon others' shoulders,"_ Durandal grumbled.

" _What do you propose I do? Should I turn his offer down and look elsewhere?"_ Krile asked.

" _As infuriating as his overbearing personality may be, I can sense that he truly does worry for his friends, no matter how long he has known them. Maybe his enthusiasm will become vexing at times, but we should just bear it for now and accompany him until we obtain the information we need."_

She said to Melvin, "Understood. I will travel with you in the meantime."

"Trust me, it won't be a bad deal," he assured, patting her shoulder. "Tomorrow morning, we'll set foot westward for Tsuchiya. There's some business there that I need to look into regarding my patrol, so you can shadow me and see how I work before we get you set up in Ran'u."

"Then I will go to bed for the night, and then reconvene with you in the morn."

"Perfect! Good night, Krile!"

"Likewise."


	3. Remedy For Needless Suffering

**TALES OF OBSCURA**

 **Chapter 3: Remedy for Needless Suffering**

The next morning, Melvin and Krile reconvened to do some quick shopping for traveling supplies, then bid farewell to Kawabata and headed westward across the plains to their next destination. It would take them around five hours on foot, but it was a sunny day with refreshing breezes to soothe their skin from the heat.

"So," Krile said, "what exactly do you need to do in Tsuchiya?"

"Pretty much the same thing as last time," Melvin frowned. "Although Kawabata was involved in that child kidnapping incident, the situation doesn't appear to be as bad as what I've heard of in Tsuchiya. I've been told that some of their residents actually moved out, and it's gradually turning into a ghost town."

"A ghost town? What could possibly drive so many people to leave?"

"Something to do with a disease ravaging the area. But that doesn't make any sense to me…"

"Why not?"

"Tsuchiya is famous for its meadows of wild herbs and medicinal plants. I've heard of doctors coming from far and wide to study the flora around here, and the other nations practically depend on Tsuchiya for regular imports of plants until they develop ways to cultivate their own medicines."

"Do you think bandits could be involved again?"

"Possibly," the dark elf shrugged. "But that doesn't explain the illness affecting everyone. I sincerely doubt that a bunch of wayward rogues are capable of something as insidious as deliberately inflicting some kind of sickness on a town, especially when it would likewise put themselves at risk."

"What about that Association you told me about?" Krile wondered.

"They specialize in Thaumaturgy studies. Biology is not in their field of expertise."

"Hmm… Quite the mystery."

"Geez," Melvin grumbled. "If Tsuchiya is so important for the entire continent, why the hell won't the Shogun deploy his own soldiers there? It's like they only care about keeping themselves protected."

"Who is this Shogun anyway?"

"I don't really know. They don't involve themselves in public affairs much. Interestingly, the Shogun isn't a hereditary position like the monarchies are. It's a title passed down from one worthy man or woman to the next, even if they aren't related by blood. Unlike the other countries, Hieizou respects people with talents and charisma, and previous generations entrust the nation's future to those of the next generation who are both wise and capable. Hieizou's influx of crime is a real bomb, but I can get behind how their government works."

"You don't think the Shogun is behind these criminals?"

"Not a chance. If Hieizou had enough manpower, the Shogun would have stamped out this crime wave faster than you can blink. The Shogun is extremely strict, almost to the point of being dictatorial, but as long as it maintains the peace without hampering the citizens' free will, I won't complain. The bad guys are just taking advantage of the lack of available soldiers at the moment, that's all."

"I see."

Durandal murmured, _"This has been most educational. Human society is a topic that always fascinates me, since different nations have completely different beliefs and systems, yet can somehow maintain harmony between each other. Of course, no political system is perfect, and there certainly will need to be changes as these settlers make the shift from one planet's ecosystem to another."_

" _Didn't you tell me before that the Great Spirits get to observe how humans behave all the time?"_ Krile asked.

" _That may be true for the formless Great Spirits, such as those of the 10 elements who have strong connections with humans through Thaumae. But some of us, such as myself, have physical forms at the expense of not being able to watch over humanity whenever we desire. Any lesson into the intricacies of the human world would be most welcome to me, especially when it comes to how everyone is coping after the Great Migration."_

" _So you want me to ask a lot of questions."_

" _Learning is fine, but don't feel forced to educate yourself constantly. Taking in too much information at once is not wise, especially for someone as secluded as yourself."_

" _Understood."_

"Hey, what's up?" Melvin asked her. "You went quiet there for a minute."

"I was just trying to understand everything," she murmured. "It's kind of hard for me to follow what's going on when there are so many people and organizations to keep track of."

"Don't worry. If you need answers, I'm the guy to ask. I'll even repeat stuff if you need me to. I just _love_ to talk! It makes me feel alive, y'know?"

"No, I wouldn't. Talking is a waste of precious energy for me."

"Then I guess I have way too much energy to spare, huh? Hah hah hah!" he laughed and smacked her back jovially, which caused her to jerk in mild surprise.

She sighed and mumbled, "Please don't do that again…"

"Whoops, sorry. Didn't mean to spook you. It's a habit I have to show my friendly side. Guess you're one of those types who takes their private space seriously. I'll try not to do it again, but don't get mad if I forget."

"I'll try…"

They went through the seemingly endless plains of grasses and wildflowers, passing by the odd farm here and there, until they could see the stables and wagons of the local horse farm just outside of the approaching town's borders. A plain wooden torii stretched over the village's entrance, and the kanji for Tsuchiya – comprised of the 'earth' and 'house/roof' characters - were painted bright red to welcome visitors. In stark contrast to the liveliness that Kawabata had to offer, Tsuchiya looked barren and forlorn, with almost no one strolling the streets when it was the middle of the afternoon.

"Wow… Those ghost town rumors really aren't hyperbole," Melvin murmured.

Krile asked, "If there's no one around, who should we talk to?"

"Don't worry. I'm an acquaintance of the mayor's. I'm sure he'll tell us what's going on."

He took her to a particular house on the hillside, where a small garden of fresh vegetables grew and a dog could be seen running around freely. Melvin rapped the door with the metal lion's head door knocker, and an older gentleman with heavy bags under his weary eyes answered.

"What do you want?" he grumbled unpleasantly, then coughed a few times.

"Yo. I'm just paying a visit."

"Ah, Mr. Dengon!" the old man's eyes lit up when he recognized the dark elf. He grabbed a jacket and said, "My apologies, but it wouldn't be wise for me to invite you inside when the rest of my family is very sick. It'd be shameful if I spread this contagious illness to my guests. In fact, you two should probably maintain a good distance from me while we talk."

"Oh… sure," Melvin mumbled.

"Excuse me."

They waited for the mayor to put on his coat and scarf, even though it was a mild enough day to walk around in short sleeves or a light sweater. He took the pair for a stroll around town while explaining, "It's a disgrace for me to have you witness this village in such a pitiful state. Really, this shouldn't even be happening to begin with."

Melvin put his hands in his pockets and asked, "I've only heard the situation through word of mouth, but could you tell us what's been going on?"

"As you can see, the vast majority of the residents have suddenly fallen so ill that they are either confined to their beds or are just well enough to care for another's needs. It doesn't appear to be showing any sign of waning, so business with the rest of the continent has practically slowed down to a snail's pace. Coupled with the number of people suddenly moving away, there's no possibility that we would be able to keep Tsuchiya running under such conditions should they persist for too long."

"What are the symptoms?"

"Most people are complaining of fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and tremendous fatigue. Some of the older folks like myself have become too weak to get out of a chair."

"Sounds like the flu, but if it's affecting everyone in the town at once, then something's up."

"Indeed. From what I've noticed, all of this started to happen around six weeks ago."

"Did you notice anything strange occur back then?"

"Hmm…" the mayor mumbled in thought. "Now that I think about it, I've been noticing some kind of sweet odor in the air. I thought it was related to the wildflowers blooming after the winter season though."

"A sweet odor, huh?"

"Other than that, I can't really think of anything too suspicious. But that's exactly what those two girls asked me a couple of days ago."

"Two girls?"

"Yes. A pair of travelers stopped by here and asked me pretty much the same questions you did. Since no one here is well enough to harvest the herbs in the nearby wetlands, they volunteered to go get some so they could begin treating us. They said they were training to become specialized healers and were very interested in learning more about Yasouen Fields."

Melvin raised an eyebrow. "Did one have black hair and wear yellow clothes?"

"Why yes, she did."

"And did the other have short winged hair and wear a white dress with colorful trim?"

"She most certainly did! They said that they were sisters. But how did you know that?"

"You could say they're friends of mine."

"I see, I see. Then if they're your friends, do you think you could check up on them? It's been almost two days since they left for the fields, and they promised they would be back by now," the mayor requested.

"Not a problem, sir. We'll go look for them," Melvin nodded. "They're not the types to dawdle when they see people in trouble, so I'm kind of worried too."

He and Krile brought the mayor back home, then headed back for the town entrance. They wasted no time in departing Tsuchiya and venturing forth to the plains. It took about half an hour of walking before they approached a sudden drop in the hillside, which welcomed them to the natural landscape dubbed Yasouen Fields. The grass stretched for miles on end and was carpeted with an enormous variety of wildflowers and foliage. A shallow marsh was home to some species of migratory birds, including some black-and-white avians that Melvin didn't recognize.

"Whoa, those look mighty regal," he commented. "I wonder what those are called."

"Tanchozuru…" Krile whispered.

"Huh?"

"Also known as the red-crowned crane. They primarily have black and white feathers, but they possess a patch of red skin on the crown that gets brighter during mating season. Due to Hieizou's warmer climate and numerous wetlands, they're native to this country and are a symbol of luck."

"Wow. You into bird watching?"

"No."

"Then how did you know what they were?"

"They're my favorite animal."

"Is that so?" Melvin scratched his chin. "I can see why. They're actually quite pretty to look at. I mean, I prefer big, tough animals like prickleboars or Eggbears that can do heavy lifting, but something as elegant as that Tancho-whatever isn't too shabby either. I wonder if those birds taste as good as chicken."

"They taste more like wild turkey."

"Eh!? You've eaten them before!? But you said they're your favorite animal!"

"So? When you need to eat, you have to hunt what's available. Besides, didn't you mention that prickleboar meat was your favorite?"

"Ah… I guess so… Double standards," Melvin chuckled. "I'm kind of bad for that."

Bored of conversing about wildlife, Krile immediately switched the topic and said, "So from what I understand, we're here to look for a couple of acquaintances of yours."

"Right, right. They're sisters named Milei and Misha. Milei has long black hair and wears a yellow jacket and shorts over an orange bodysuit. Her younger sister Misha has grey hair that fans out like wings, and she wears a white dress with multiple colors on the trim. They should be pretty hard to miss in this totally green area."

"Understood."

They scoured the expansive fields for the next several hours, shoving their way through tall grasses and carefully treading over small creeks with large rocks dotting the water for easier travel. Although the sights were breathtaking to behold, their search was uneventful for the next two hours, and the plains appeared to stretch so far that they would need at least another full day of searching.

"Sheesh…" Melvin complained. "I know I talked big to the mayor, but are we really gonna find them in this huge open space?"

"There's still plenty of light outside," Krile said. "If we don't find them, we can always set up camp."

"I don't mind, but I'd rather go back to the town and sleep in a proper bed."

"Even though there's the risk of us being bedridden with some mysterious sickness?"

"Er… Dammit, didn't think of that…"

"You should channel your energy into something more productive like searching, rather than complaining about things beyond your control."

"Ack… I know it's true, but that still stings…" he cringed.

They kept looking around for the rest of the day, but still found no sign of anyone else scouring the fields. Since it was getting dark, they opted to give up and assembled a makeshift campfire before sleeping in the grass. The following morning, Melvin woke up at the crack of dawn and stretched, letting out a blatant yawn.

"Damn it. I'm not used to the outdoors like this," he complained, having to move his stiffened muscles around to feel limber again. He saw that Krile was still sleeping, so he shook her shoulder and said, "Hey, wake up. It's mornin'."

"Hmngh…" she stirred and rolled onto her back before opening her eyes. The whites around her irises looked slightly redder than usual, her nose was tinged a sickly pink, and she appeared fatigued even though she had slept.

"Whoa, look at you," the dark elf remarked. "You okay there?"

Krile coughed hard a few times and muttered, "Not really. That sweet smell the mayor was talking about kept me up throughout the night."

Melvin sniffed the air. "I don't notice anything."

"Really? My eyes are watering. Maybe I'm just allergic to pollen."

"That's weird. You've lived a long time surrounded by nature, so why would you suddenly have a pollen allergy?"

"That's true," she admitted, then sneezed. "But something's still irritating my sinuses."

He squinted, realizing that something suspicious was happening to his traveling companion. He suddenly demanded, "You don't feel like you're going to be sick, do you!?"

"Not as seriously as everyone in Tsuchiya was, but I don't feel like I'm in my best condition."

"Damn it. Maybe we better give up and get the hell out of here. If you get far away enough from this weird odor you keep talking about, maybe you'll feel better."

"I don't know. Besides, I'm curious to find out if this sweet smell really is being generated by something to forcibly make Tsuchiya's citizens ill. Didn't you tell me that that town is vital for all four nations when it comes to providing medicinal herbs?"

Melvin widened his eyes, realizing what she was surmising. "Yeah, I did say that. You think someone's trying to drive the citizens out so they can swoop in and monopolize the market themselves?"

"I'm not trying to think about wild conspiracies like that. I just want to focus on the possibility of a deliberate contagion and eliminate it at the source so at least the basic problem is removed."

"You're right. And if those two friends of mine have already been here for three days, they probably reached that same conclusion as well. But if this disease is already affecting you after one day, I don't want to imagine what would happen to them after three!"

"Let's search for them quickly. We still have time."

Once they figured out what to do next, they resumed their manhunt with renewed vigor. Even though Krile felt lousy, she endured the irksome symptoms and carefully looked around. During the investigation, she asked him, "I wonder why you're not feeling anything while everyone else is. Is it because you're an elf?"

"Well, that could be part of it," Melvin trailed off, sounding rather hesitant.

"Part of it?"

"… Sorry. It's something I'd rather not talk about."

" _Well, well,"_ Durandal said bemusedly. _"Our resident chatterbox not wanting to explain something? I daresay, that is quite the first."_

Krile ignored the Swordian and said, "As long as there's a legitimate reason, then I'm satisfied."

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it some other time," Melvin frowned.

The search continued with no progress for another hour. As they turned the bend around a wide hill, the bored pair were suddenly jolted to life when they heard an ear-piercing screech in the distance.

"What the hell was that!?" the dark elf yelled.

"A Shiratori griffon," Krile answered immediately.

"How do you know that?"

"They're the only birds that make that kind of cry. But they normally live on the canyons way to the southwest of us, far away from civilization. Why is there one out here?"

"Forget that! If it makes its way to Tsuchiya, those people are doomed!"

They wielded their weapons and ran as fast as they could toward the source of the repulsive shriek. They broke through the tall stalks of grass and discovered a large four-legged beast resembling a cross between a lion's body and an eagle's head, wings and talons. The feathers covering it were completely white, but its beady black eyes were an uncomfortable contrast to the snowy plumage.

" **Snipe Air!"**

They heard a girl's voice cry out her attack name, and a couple of straight aerial slices slashed through the sky. A teenager no older than Krile landed on her feet and wheezed. She had long black hair and wore a cropped jacket and shorts that were a bright yellow in color. Underneath them was an orange bodysuit that covered her neck down to her feet, and she had a pair of thigh-length brown leather boots running along her legs. She wielded a short dagger as her weapon, but she had plenty more on her belt.

" **Aqua Edge!"**

This came from a second girl, who had conjured the familiar aquatic disc and hurled it at the griffon. It came from another teenager who looked to be a couple of years younger than the first girl. She had short grey hair flipped like wings at the back, and wore an elegant feather hairpin. She had on a blue jacket over a white dress with multicolored trim around the hem, along with a single thigh-length white stocking on her right leg and blue shoes on both feet.

"That's them!" Melvin yelped and dashed toward the struggling duo. _**"Milei! Misha!"**_

"Eh!?" the younger female, Misha, looked back and recognized him. "No way! Is that you, Melvin!?"

"What the hell's going on here!?"

"Does it look like we're in the mood for explaining, you dope!?" Milei, the older teenager, snarled at him. "Help us take this thing out already!"

"I know that! Geez!" he grumbled. He charged in and swung his double axes at the infuriated monster, but he never had experience fighting a griffon before and didn't expect it to be so ridiculously powerful. Swipes that would topple ordinary men off their feet barely fazed the animal, and it raised its talons up to slash him into meat ribbons.

" **Kajinken,"** Krile whispered and sent her signature pink energy wave at it, knocking it off balance and allowing Melvin to get away.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed. "How are we supposed to beat this thing!?"

"I don't want to hear you say that after you came to rescue us!" Milei snapped.

"I know, but-!"

The griffon let out another deafening screech, then spread its white wings high above. Then, to everyone's sheer astonishment, the wings began to glow in an intricate pattern.

"Impossible!" Misha gasped. "It's been branded with a Martel Thauma!?"

Milei uttered, "That pattern of Martel's is one that conjures disease and death through lethal poisons! It's been outlawed for ages!"

"Looks like someone doesn't give two shits about the law!" Melvin swore in frustration.

The Thauma engraved beneath the white feathers glowed a deep green color. Then it beat its wings and conjured a peculiar green mist from the magic crests that drowned out the oxygen and overwhelmed the group with a familiar nauseatingly sweet scent. The flapping of its wings spread the strange poison out in concentrated waves.

"Ugh!" Milei covered her mouth with a cloth and squeezed her eyes shut to not get any mist on them.

Krile accidentally inhaled a large whiff of the toxin and fell to her knees coughing. Melvin kneeled next to her and shouted, "Are you okay!?"

"Throat… burning… so dry…"

"Hang on!" Misha ran to her side and produced a handkerchief from her pocket. Bundled inside the cloth were various herbs that had been previously ground with a pestle and mortar. "These are antihistamines. Cover your nose and mouth and breathe deeply."

Krile did as instructed, and the acrid smells of fresh ginger root, cinnamon and eucalyptus calmed her sinuses. However, the poison had virtually incapacitated her for the moment, and the angry griffon was still on the verge of tearing them all into shreds. Melvin, who had been unaffected by the toxic mist, let out a livid battle cry and brandished his twin axes to counter the wild bird's lethal claws. Milei managed to stab her dagger into its flesh and ran a straight line across to create a deep gash, but it only seemed to irritate the beast further.

" **Garyuu Upper!"** Melvin shouted and channeled his superhuman strength into a dual-bladed uppercut that sent the griffon flying backwards. While he was in the air, he called out his second move, **"Resshin Drop,"** and angled his upper body to face directly at his stunned opponent. He dropped straight down on its chest and knocked the wind clean out of its lungs. Despite the terrific injuries it sustained, it managed to thrash its claws at Melvin and scratch his chest, forcing him to retreat.

Misha stood in front of Krile and opened a grimoire that glowed with a soothing blue aura as she chanted, "Arise, o violent waters, to route mine enemies! **Saint Bubble!** "

Water vapors condensed and formed into a liquid orb over the griffon as it wailed on Melvin and Milei, drowning it within potent bursts of water. This gave the duo the chance they needed to go on the offensive while Misha continuously cast a quick and very popular single-target healing spell called First Aid, which lessened the pain of Melvin's scratches. Although they were making progress with damaging the monster, it seemed to actually get stronger in both defense and offense. It flapped its enchanted wings and flew over the warriors to spread more of its mist around them.

"Stay away from its underbelly!" Milei shouted while making a wide berth around the beast's flight pattern.

"Kyah!?" Misha yelped, unable to react in time. Melvin charged straight for her and carried her to safety, but this left Krile vulnerable to suffering another round of poison.

Melvin shouted at her, "HEY! Get out of here already!"

Krile coughed and glared at the griffon as it flew directly at her, assuming she would be the easiest target of the four. She remained perfectly still, keeping the herb-infused handkerchief over her mouth with her left hand while holding Durandal in her right.

"RUN!" the sisters shrieked.

In the blink of an eye, Krile hopped from her crouching position and lunged her sword clean into the same gash that Milei made earlier. This was a basic swordsman technique known as Shunjinken, comprised of a single but powerful thrust forward like what a fencer would do. The attack pierced through some of the griffon's vital organs and killed it instantly. She extracted her bloodied weapon out and left the animal to collapse onto the grass in a dead heap. Some remnants of the poisonous wings overcame her senses, and she hunched forward in another coughing and sneezing fit. Misha immediately came to her aid and offered another sachet of herbs for her to inhale, then guided the weary swordsman away from the corpse.

Melvin and Milei stayed behind to investigate, and the dark elf muttered, "So this is the source of Tsuchiya's problems."

"Yeah… There's no question that this is a Martel Thauma that's been branded onto a vicious animal," Milei observed. "This Martel Thauma is designed to release the poisonous gas that's been plaguing the town, and with the griffon's ability to fly, it could cover a wide range and afflict many people. The beast itself looks like it comes from Shiratori Heights, the infamous griffon nesting ground to the far southwest of us, which means it had to have been stolen from there at some point. Trying to steal an adult would be suicide, so maybe an egg was taken instead and branded in captivity."

"You have any idea who could've done this, and why?"

"I don't know the why, but I can easily answer the who."

The black-haired girl pushed aside some feathers on the griffon's wings and found what she was looking for. She pointed to a tiny emblem that was nearly imperceptible to the eye and explained, "See this? It's the official emblem for the Usui Institute of Thaumaturgy."

"The Association's behind this!?" Melvin reeled.

"There's a lot we can't be sure of, but at least we finally have a concrete connection that Sis has been looking for."

"Sis? You mean Misha?"

"No, Mikami. She allowed us to travel around Hieizou to look for any clues or evidence as to who's masterminding this sudden spike in organized crime. Apparently the Shogun sent an ambassador to meet with her and made such a request, which leads to Misha and I being here."

"So the Shogun isn't totally ignorant of what's going on."

"Of course not!" Milei fumed. "I wouldn't like it either if my country was turned into a breeding ground for crooks to do their villainous activities!"

"Damn… Once we bring this back to Mikami though, I've got a gut feeling we'll be opening a real can of worms."

"Better to open it than keep the lid tightly shut and allow this to continue!"

"I know, I know."

Milei used her dagger to carve into the dead beast's flesh and extract the bit containing the incriminating sigil. Once she was done, she said, "Perfect. I just need to have this tanned, and then we'll be all set."

"We should see how the others are doing," Melvin said.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you. Who's that other girl you came here with?"

"I met her in Kawabata. Let me introduce her to you guys and fill you in on what we dealt with."

He took her through the wetlands until they found Krile resting beneath a tree and Misha preparing some proper medicine to give to her. Misha waved at them and asked, "Hey, Sis! How did the investigation go?"

Milei explained what she found, and Misha yelped, "No way! The Association created that monster!?"

"We don't know if it was a joint effort between the Association's scientists, or if it was one who's gone rogue. Hell, it could be someone trying to frame them," her sister shrugged. "That's up to the Minister of Justice to determine with an inquisition."

"You're right. Kiraki will figure out what the heck's going on here!"

"So…" Milei mumbled, then kneeled in front of Krile and asked, "Are you feeling all right?"

"Better than I was during the battle," she said between congested sniffles, "but I don't know if I have enough energy to return to Tsuchiya before nightfall."

"That's okay. We can camp here tonight and get to know each other. You should be up and running tomorrow morning, no problem."

With that, they built another campfire and ate the remainder of their provisions for dinner. Melvin introduced the sisters to Krile and told them all about the child kidnapping incident in Kawabata. He also mentioned how she was interested in being hired by Eikimi to work as a patrolman like himself, and that she was shadowing him for the time being.

"That's great to hear, Krile," Milei said with a hearty smile, but then it changed into an exhausted frown. "I sure hope there aren't any more big incidents like this one to take care of though. It'd be a real nightmare if Hieizou had numerous reports of Thauma-branded creatures like that running around alongside the bandits."

"But now that we have some hard evidence, we should report to Sis right away before any other bad things can happen to Hieizou's poor citizens!" Misha exclaimed.

"Report?" Krile wondered.

"Yeah! She's the Queen of Eikimi, so she should be able to-"

" _MISHA!"_ Milei and Melvin shouted at the same time. Misha realized her mistake and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

Krile tilted her head and asked, "Queen? Then does that mean…?"

"Aw, dammit," Milei smacked her forehead. She gave up and muttered, "Yeah, that's right. Misha and I are the Queen's younger sisters, so that makes us Eikimi's princesses."

"Is that so? Melvin never mentioned that."

"Of course he wouldn't. He may have loose lips, but at least he's honor-bound not to say anything about our status, unlike Lil' Miss Overtalkative here."

Misha yelped, "I'm sorry! I was just so excited about finding this evidence that I forgot and let it slip!"

"Ugh… Can't be helped," Milei grumbled. "Then again, if Krile's going to be working for Eikimi, then she would have found out one way or another. I would've preferred it not be while out on the road. Some people might become 'interested' in us should they learn of our position as royals."

"It doesn't really matter that much to me," Krile murmured.

"Thanks. Glad to know not everyone is out there to take advantage of us."

They continued talking throughout the evening, and the topic began to shift towards the Thaumaturge Association and the Thaumae they researched. That was when Melvin exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot! Hey, Misha. You're training to be a Thaumaturge Bishop, aren't you?"

"On the side, yeah," the younger princess said. "But I mostly want to be a doctor."

"That so? But are you good enough to do a basic elemental affinity check?"

"Sure, but I'm no professional. Who did you want me to examine?"

"Actually," Melvin wrapped his arm around the unenthusiastic Krile's shoulders and said, "she told me that she doesn't have a Thauma."

" _Wha~aa~aat!?_ No way!" Misha faltered.

"Are you kidding!?" Milei added. "You can't use magic of any kind!?"

Krile grumbled under her breath, "Why is it such a big deal…?"

"Cut her some slack. She's been living in the boonies ever since the Great Migration, so she's a bit out of touch with society," Melvin told them. "She doesn't have any family, so she must not have known about going to a Bishop or getting a Thauma."

"Wow…" Misha uttered in amazement, unable to imagine someone living life without an element at their beck and call. "Well, if that's how it is, then I'd be happy to help you out. It'd get real annoying if everyone reacted like that, huh?"

"I don't really care, but if it satisfies you, do as you please," Krile murmured.

"Then just sit real still and close your eyes."

The swordsman did as instructed, and Misha pressed her fingers against Krile's chest to attune her magical energies. The young healer cycled through each of the 10 elements in a well-known procedure, reading the wavelengths and comparing them to see which one was the strongest. After about five minutes of anticipating silence, Misha stopped and uttered, "That's weird…"

"What's the matter?" her sister asked.

"I know I'm doing it right, but I can't sense _any_ elemental affinity in Krile's body whatsoever!"

"Y-You're joking, aren't you?" Melvin chuckled hesitantly. "That's impossible. Everyone has to have been imbued with at least one or two elemental signatures at birth. The mana that permeates the air is what causes it."

"Let me try again!"

Misha attempted another reading, but she became flustered and exclaimed, "Gah, it's no good! It's like when someone's heart flatlines! None of the 10 elements are resonating inside her!"

Krile glanced at the others as they stared at her in confusion and bewilderment. Milei let out a nervous smile and suggested, "Maybe it's because your skill level isn't high enough. We should bring her to a professional Bishop and have them figure it out."

"Ooh, now it's really bugging me! I wanna know what kind of Thauma Krile would have!" Misha complained.

"I don't really care," Krile grumbled.

"Don't be like that! Being able to use magic is a lot cooler than you think!"

"If you say so."

"Say, Tsuchiya's mayor is a retired Bishop," Melvin offered. "With that griffon dead, everyone should be getting better in the next few days. Maybe when he's recovered, he could do an assessment for her."

"Good idea," Milei nodded. "We should bring all the herbs we've gathered as soon as we can tomorrow and start treating everyone. Hopefully there haven't been any deaths since we left."

"We'll just have to find out tomorrow, huh? For now, let's get some sleep. After bagging that illegal son of a bitch, my bones could use a good unwinding."

"Yeah. Then let's get some shut-eye, team. We've got a busy day ahead of us."


	4. Wings of Impending Chaos

**TALES OF OBSCURA**

 **Chapter 4: Wings of Impending Chaos**

The next morning, the group of adventurers woke up and headed back to Tsuchiya through Yasouen Fields. Krile was feeling much better after the herbs and medicines Misha gave her cleared her sinuses and removed the poison from her body. Upon reaching the quiet town, some grey clouds rolled over and the first drops of rain sprinkled down on them. They rushed to the mayor's home and were about to knock on the door, but it opened before they even reached the porch.

"Oh, by the gods! You're all back safe and sound!" the mayor exclaimed happily.

"I'm sorry for making you worry!" Misha replied. "Look, we got plenty of medicine to treat everyone!"

"Fantastic news, indeed! I've also noticed that that sweet smell has disappeared, and my wife is slowly regaining her strength."

"Oh, about that…" Milei trailed. "We need to have a serious talk with you. Misha, why don't you take Melvin and go around town delivering the antidote?"

"Antidote?" the old man wondered.

She didn't regard him and continued, "I'll have Krile stay with me so we can talk with him about that other matter."

Despite the grey weather and light downpour, Misha was more than eager to take on the task, and she took Melvin along. Milei and Krile entered the mansion and sat in the parlor with the mayor, and they explained everything about the branded griffon to him.

"So we were deliberately being afflicted by a poison-imbued Martel Thauma? Serious news, indeed," he murmured and stroked his beard. "And you say you found the emblem of the Association's Usui branch tattooed on its wing?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Milei frowned and showed him the patch of flesh she carved. "We're bringing this as evidence for my older sister to review."

"So that's why you called your younger sister's medicine an antidote. I see, I see… Yes, that would make sense, given the large number of people affected regardless of age, gender or health."

"Do you have any idea who could possibly do this?"

"Hmmm…" the mayor hummed in contemplation. "It's been a long time since I was an alumni for the Association, so I have not kept in touch with the goings-on of the faculty and students. But I understand that if the Usui chapter is somehow involved, then perhaps you should direct your hard questions to the dean. Her name's Sarah Hiroaki, who oversees all faculty and the various curricula they teach. If any rogue educators are involved in this, they would be hard-pressed to do this without her knowledge since facilities and funds are limited."

"That's exactly what I thought too," Milei nodded.

"I'm sorry I can't be of any further help, princess. I am not in the habit of making enemies, although I won't deny the possibility of some sordid character trying to take over New Qlipott's main supply of medicinal herbs in Yasouen Fields."

"Don't worry, sir. We'll look into it and make sure nothing like this happens again."

"May the Great Spirits bless you, young lady."

"Thank you. Actually, there's something else I want to discuss with you."

"What would that be?"

Milei gestured to Krile and explained her situation about not possessing a Thauma, and Misha's failed reading of her elemental affinity. The mayor examined Krile and murmured, "Quite the peculiar case. So you require my skills as a former Thaumaturge Bishop to examine this young lady's affinity?"

"If you don't mind," Milei said.

"No mind at all. It's the least I can do for the ones who saved my town. Krile, my girl, have a seat here and we'll get started."

The quiet swordsman sat on a spare stool, and the older man began to channel his energy through into her body so he could read the elemental signatures dwelling within her. He kept murmuring to himself, "Not water… Not fire… Not wind…"

One by one, he cycled through the 10 elements until he reached the last one and mumbled in disbelief, "Not sound either?"

"What!?" Milei yelped. "Are you sure that's right!?"

He shook his head and said, "I could perform the channeling dozens of times, but the result will just be the same. For whatever reason, this young lady's elemental affinity is completely absent."

"Oh…"

"In my professional opinion, branding her with a Thauma would not be wise until further analysis is done."

Krile interrupted them and said, "I'm not interested in getting a Thauma."

The mayor paused, then replied, "Normally the decision is made by the parents of the child, but you are old enough to decide for yourself. Technically speaking, there is no law forcing anyone to be branded against their will, although Thaumae have become such a part of society that such a law is unnecessary. If that is what you wish though, then let me write an official creed stating my results and your wishes to the Thaumaturge community."

He went to his desk and wrote the details on a sheet of high quality paper, then folded it inside an envelope and sealed it with a wax stamp. He gave it to Krile and said, "Since I'm retired, you should give this to an active Bishop and have them verify my findings. After that, you won't be pestered by everyone any further."

"Understood."

"Yours is a very strange case, indeed, but I will refrain from asking you questions that might be deemed inappropriate. Thank you for your service to Tsuchiya, and you are welcome here anytime you wish, Miss Shizumori."

The pair left the mansion and met up with Misha and Melvin at the town square, where several people who were well enough to walk greeted and showered them with many words of appreciation for their hard work. Misha explained, "I gave enough herbs to the apothecary for everyone to last through this, so everything is going to be fine now."

"That's great to hear," Milei sighed with relief. "Were there any casualties?"

"None whatsoever, although if it kept going for another day or two, some of the elderly might have succumbed."

"I see. I wish we could stay here and observe the town's recovery, but we need to return home as soon as possible and tell Sis about this."

"Yeah," Misha agreed with a crestfallen look. "We might've saved Tsuchiya, but who knows where else people will be suffering?"

"The villagers gave us some free provisions as thanks, so we can get going whenever you want, Boss," Melvin grinned and hauled a bag of food over his shoulder.

Milei snapped, "Don't call me that, ya dummy!"

"Ah, your accent's slipping through, Sis!" Misha chuckled.

"That's enough already! If we leave now, we'll make it to Hokusei Station by the evening! Let's just go already!"

Melvin and Misha continued teasing Milei to ease their minds of the heavy task ahead, and Krile quietly followed while observing their bickering as they left Tsuchiya's grateful citizens behind. Their travels would take them way to the northwest of Hieizou, where the border village Hokusei was tucked in a valley leading to the mountains of southwestern Eikimi. Along the way, Milei explained what happened at the mayor's house regarding Krile.

"That's insane!" Melvin yelled in shock. "Krile has absolutely no elemental affinity at all!?"

"I've never heard of such a thing, even in all of the books I've read," Misha frowned. "I wonder if there's some kind of physical disorder that prevents the body from being affected by mana…"

"I don't know," Krile muttered, "and I don't really care."

"Why don't you care?"

"I never needed a Thauma to survive. I fail to see why I would need it now, other than to keep everyone off my case."

"Don't say that. We're just worried about you."

"I'm fine, really. I'm more concerned about trying to understand what's going on here. There's been so much new information being thrown around after that griffon battle, so I feel like I'm getting a bit lost in the shuffle."

"Hm?" Misha raised an eyebrow. "What is there that you don't get?"

"First of all, why is it considered illegal for an animal to have a Thauma?"

"Are you kidding!? Everyone knows about animal cruelty rights!"

"…"

"… Oh, right! Lived alone a long time… Well back when my grandma was Queen of Eikimi on Old Qlipott, she was a defender of preserving the remaining wildlife that hadn't gone extinct yet. But then she found out about some Thaumaturge researchers performing experiments on animals by branding them with Thaumae, then training them to be either work animals, performers in local entertainment troupes, or hunters. I even heard that some nobles were killed from a branded animal that was being sicced on them by some disgruntled scientist who was denied funding money.

"Well long story short, Grandma immediately ordered a search of every Thaumaturge laboratory and demanded that any involved with animal branding be shut down and the researchers prosecuted. She drafted an international law against animal cruelty, and all four nations put their signatures down to accept it."

"Hmph," Milei grunted, "apparently someone thinks that just because we're on a new planet doesn't mean that Old Qlipott's laws still apply."

Melvin told her, "They are in effect, but there just isn't enough manpower to enforce them. Respect for world leaders and nobles has dropped drastically as well since social hierarchies managed to carry themselves over, and people of the lower and middle classes are still being treated poorly."

"I know that…" she mumbled in disappointment. "Believe me, I wish everyone could get along and put the past behind them…"

Krile shrugged and murmured, "I wouldn't know. I was fine living in that forest away from all of the noise and politics."

"Did you begin living as a hunter right after the Great Migration?" Misha asked curiously "Since Melvin said you're 19, you had to have been nine when we all moved here from Old Qlipott, right?"

"… Right," Krile muttered with a hesitant pause, which made the others feel a bit uncomfortable with her detached behavior.

"What about your mom and dad?"

"I don't have any relatives."

"Not even during the Migration?"

"Mm-hmm."

"What about friends?"

"Not really."

"Oh…" Misha frowned, feeling very downhearted at the thought of living such a secluded, solitary life without anyone to rely on. "So you really have been closed off from the world, haven't you?"

"All I need is my sword and prey to hunt," Krile said. "Human society is too complicated for me to understand, so I didn't bother for a long time."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were so antisocial. If you want, we can take you back to Kawabata so you can go back to living in the forest peacefully."

"That won't be necessary. I left on my own accord."

"Why?"

Krile paused again, trying to think of a good reason to satisfy the curious princess. Durandal offered, _"Tell her that the increase in bandits made you worried."_

"The increase in bandits made me worried," she repeated verbatim with a dull tone.

"That would make sense," Milei said. "If they were causing trouble in Kawabata and the nearby Enten River, no doubt you would have gotten into a skirmish or two with those ruffians and would wonder what was up. So you left in order to investigate the cause of these criminals and put a stop to them before you could go back to your sequestered life."

"That's correct," Krile affirmed.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but this is a much bigger problem than just some isolated events in Hieizou. They could be the result of some nefarious conspiracy brewing behind the scenes that could affect the whole continent. Tackling each little problem in this country won't resolve the larger issues at hand. But don't worry – Eikimi and our neighboring ally Sumizome are doing all we can to find the root of this problem and nip it before it gets any worse."

"I see."

"So I guess the question is, do you want to go back to Kawabata, or do you want to help us out?"

Krile shook her head. "Melvin already recommended that I sign up as a scout for Eikimi, and I accepted the terms that he detailed. It won't be necessary for me to return."

"Great! But you can't just start working for Eikimi like that. You need to register as a member of our official patrolling party before you can begin working under the country's payroll."

"Sounds like a hassle."

"Oh, it's no big deal. You just have to sign a couple of papers. Things should go super smoothly for you since it's Eikimi's princesses recommending you, and paperwork flies by real fast when us royals are overseeing it."

"If you say so."

"Awesome! We need all the helping hands we can get, so having you on board is a big bonus since you know this country really well!"

"Not really. I'm just familiar with Enten River and Kawabata."

"Well, that's a decent start."

"So," Misha asked Krile, "is there anything you still don't understand?"

She paused for a moment, trying to put together all of the information she was mentally gathering. "From what I can tell, our objective is to go meet your older sister, the Queen, and tell her about the illegal activities we've witnessed. What is she going to do from there? Is it some complicated thing we have to do for her?"

"No, no, you don't have to worry. Mikami and Kiraki will take care of the rest. Our job is just to beat up the bad guys and bring evidence to them so they can arrest the proper people and put them on trial. Couldn't be any simpler than that for you."

"Kiraki? Who is that?"

"His name's Kiraki Kureha, the Minister of Justice for Eikimi, and Mikami's husband. I guess that would make him the King, but Eikimi's a matriarchy, so men don't have as much power in the royal family. That's why the Queen's husband is always the Minister of Justice instead."

" _Kiraki…"_ Durandal murmured. _"That's a name we haven't heard in a while."_

" _If it's the same person,"_ Krile replied, then asked, "What is he like?"

"He's so _cool!_ " Milei exclaimed happily. "Kiraki's really smart and level-headed; kind of like you, actually. And he's famous across the country for being a commoner who stole Mikami's heart by winning a fierce gladiatorial contest at the coliseum! Usually it's a nobleman who marries the Queen, so it was a real first for a lower-class citizen to become the Minister of Justice! He's said to be one of the finest swordsmen in the world, known as the Black Steel of Eikimi, alongside the Iron Blade of Sumizome, Xanto Gozen! Then again, you're pretty good with a sword too. Maybe Kiraki would like to test your abilities and see if you're good enough to be a soldier. I bet even you'd have a tough time beating the world's best swordsman, but don't be hard on yourself if you lose. Kiraki's just that awesome."

"Come on, you're making it sound like she's weak!" Melvin exclaimed. "If there's anyone who can at least stand toe-to-toe with Master Kureha, it's Krile! Hell, I'd bet all of my gald that she'd beat him in a serious fight!"

"Hoooh? Sounds like you're challenging me to a real bet, Dengon."

"And if I am?"

"Fine, you're on, mister! We each put 5,000 gald on the table! Me for Kiraki, and you for Krile!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way!"

"Now, now, let's not get carried away here…" Misha urged them to stop. Krile just ignored them and tried to drift her mind off into a meditative state. She didn't get too deep in when she heard Misha say, "You shouldn't forget about that injury Kiraki sustained a few years ago."

"The one on his arm?" Milei asked. "Ah, I remember that. It was weird though. I never thought someone as good as him would get a deep cut like that."

"An injury?" Krile asked.

"About six years ago, Kiraki came to this country to do some patrolling and official business. About a month later, he returned with his upper right arm covered in bandages. Apparently he had sustained a huge injury that ran down the length of his upper arm and nearly disabled it. He managed to recover, but he was forced to switch his sword hand from his right to his left since he noticed that his swings weren't the way that he was used to."

"Did he say where he got that injury?"

"Ugh. Whenever we tried to ask him about it, he'd just go on about how real warriors didn't talk about their battles and stuff like that. He still doesn't talk about where he got that wound, even though it'd hard to believe that someone or something could get the best of Eikimi's finest swordsman. Honestly, I'll never understand men and their whole fixation on pride and honor."

"Yeah, right," Melvin grinned. "'Cause it's way easier to understand the cunning wiles of a woman."

"Oh, shut up, you," Milei snapped.

"Kiraki's always serious when it comes to swordfighting," Misha said. "He always goes back to Hieizou around that time once a year, like it's some kind of tradition for him."

"Say, wouldn't it be funny if the one who injured him was Krile?" the dark elf chuckled. "I can see the two of them clashing in some intense battle, neither able to get the upper hand on the other for hours on end!"

"That's just silly! Krile might be good, but she's not _that_ good!"

"Hey, what's with the downvote of confidence, girl? You telling me you want in on that bet too?"

"What!? No, I never said that!"

Krile drowned out their quirky argument and went into a calm meditative stance. She was satisfied with the information about Kiraki and didn't want to think about too much until they reached their destination. She wasn't paying attention as Melvin exclaimed to the sisters, "You're gonna make her mad if you keep saying things like that!"

"No, I won't! Isn't it the truth that Kiraki's the best in the world?" Misha argued.

"Right!" Milei added. "It's our duty as sisters-in-law to defend his honor!"

"Even though you were just complaining about not understand that same honor a minute ago!" Melvin retorted.

"Just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I don't respect it!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"If you don't get it now, then you never will! A woman's heart is a lot harder to figure out than you think, mister!"

"Oh, so you're saying that women never make sense!?"

"It's called being fickle, dumbass!"

"Same difference."

"Oooh, you make me so mad!" Milei fumed. "Forget it! I'm tired of this conversation, but don't think that we're through talking about this!"

"Talking about what, exactly?" Melvin grinned.

"Wipe off that stupid look on your face! I mean Krile and Kiraki's skills as swordsmen!"

"He he he he," he chuckled as she stormed away with her nervous sister in tow. "She's too damn easy to pick on. She might act all tough, but even she needs to let out some steam now and then. What do you think, Krile?"

"… Hm?" the quiet young woman got out of her blank daze when she heard her name.

"Were you listening?"

"No."

"No…? That's not exactly something you should admit so casually."

"What were you asking me?"

"I said that it's good to feel angry and let out your pent-up stress, right?"

Krile's lips pursed a bit. Then she spoke the most unusual inquiry he'd ever heard in his life:

"What does it mean to be 'angry'?"

"Eh?" Melvin's bug-like eyes went wide with confusion. At first he was going to laugh it off, but her straight-faced expression made it abundantly clear that she was not fooling around.

She vapidly repeated it. "What does it mean to be 'angry'?"

"Well, um…" His stunned utterances made him feel pathetic. Even if the question threw him completely off, he still felt obligated to answer it as best as he could. "To be angry is to be mad with someone. I think that would be pretty obvious."

"Mad? What is that?"

"Er… Oh man… Have you been _so_ upset with someone that you just feel like exploding and yelling at them for doing something horribly wrong?"

"No."

Now he felt edgier than before. "What do you mean 'no'!? You have your own beliefs, don't you? If someone does something that goes against what you believe in, of course you're going to be mad! That's why we argue with each other – to better understand what each person is feeling, and then reach a conclusion that both sides can be happy with! Our bickering might look silly to you, but it's how we get to know how each person feels and believes about something!"

"So you must have beliefs in order to be angry," Krile summarized what he said as if it were a bland dictionary explanation.

"Are you telling me you don't believe in anything!?"

"I live for my mission."

"Mission?" He was surprised to hear her say such a strong, determined word. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"I don't have to tell you."

"Er…" Melvin felt hurt from being shot down so bluntly, but he figured that he needed to spend more time with her in order for her to open up to him better. They had only traveled together for a few days, so it wasn't unreasonable for her to be aloof with a nearly total stranger. Even so, it still felt very disconcerting to him that she had no comprehension of what it was like to be angry. A passionate fellow like him couldn't imagine living life without letting out his inner thoughts for the world to know. Did all those years in that isolated forest dampen her ability to socialize properly? He knew it would certainly drive himself crazy.

The small group soon reached the station town of Hokusei at the entrance to Eikimi's daunting mountain passes. It served as the rustic yet bustling border crossing between the two countries, which meant that families of long-time station employees and maintenance workers called this place home and established other businesses like restaurants and inns for the workers. The latest news and commerce always traveled through Hokusei, and one would wonder how such a rural, still-undeveloped town like this managed to maintain itself without falling apart from all the activity.

Unlike Kawabata and Tsuchiya which thrived on farmland and natural herbs, Hokusei was well known for its mining industry. Not only did the main Yotsuda Line run along the town's outskirts, numerous smaller tracks for mine carts and buggies wound about into the various mine shafts in the distance. The wealthy owners of those mines obviously didn't live in these outskirts, so there weren't any grand mansions to be seen. The largest building in town was still the train station and, while it was normally packed during opening and closing times for the miners, there wasn't much of a crowd waiting for the Yotsuda Line to pick them up.

"Here we are!" Milei exclaimed and stretched her arms high up. "Hmm! Feels like forever since we were last in civilization!"

"No kidding," Melvin sighed. "Getting some fresh air in the boonies is fine, but I'd go mental if I had to live there."

"Say, this is your first time here, isn't it?" Misha asked the ever-stoic Krile. "How does it feel compared to your home?"

Krile looked around with disinterest, then shrugged mildly as her response.

"Come on, what is that supposed to mean?" the princess whined, but was still ignored.

Milei approached Krile and said, "I understand if you don't like it, but you don't need to be so rude."

"I didn't want to waste my energy stating the obvious," the swordsman drawled boredly. "I thought a simple shrug would convey the message, but apparently it wasn't sufficient enough. I'll keep in mind to use accurate descriptions for easier comprehension in the future."

"You really don't like small talk, do you?"

"I'm not used to it."

"Then let's try again for some practice," Misha grinned and asked again, "How does Hokusei feel compared to your home?"

Krile sighed, then muttered, "The noise is intolerable, and the air feels unpleasantly stuffy. It's nothing but a distraction from my thoughts."

"I know. Everyone says that, but that's the way things go with mining towns."

"… What's the point of me telling you then if you can't do anything about it? This is what I meant by wasting my energy with this so-called 'small talk'."

" _That's enough, Krile,"_ Durandal chastised her. _"Remember what I told you. It's a way for people to get to know each other better. You've spent so much time with just myself for companionship that you have lost the use of such a basic skill. Misha is right; you need to practice it more."_

" _But it feels like wasted effort when I could be conserving my energy for battle."_

" _Don't complain. No effort of any kind is a waste, except when it is used in this immature fashion."_

"… _Understood."_

Milei whispered to Melvin, "Damn. Talk about detached, huh? Are you sure it was a good idea to bring her with us?"

"What do you mean 'was it a good idea'!? Of course it was!" he snapped under his breath. "I don't care what kind of person she is! No one deserves to live by themselves for such a long time without any friends or family!"

"But it was her choice to live that way, wasn't it?"

"I don't know why she removed herself from society like that, but I'll be damned if I let her go back to that solitary life! Even if she doesn't act like what we think is normal, I'll tolerate it no matter what! Hell, what does it mean to have a normal personality anyway!?"

"And if she wants to go back to living in that forest, would you respect that decision?"

"I'd go live with her then!"

"Even though you just said you didn't like the boonies?"

"Argh… _**SHUT UP!**_ " Melvin suddenly screamed at Milei. _"What the hell would you know, living in fancy castles and being served hand and foot all the time!? You have no idea what it's like to feel true loneliness, being unable to rely upon anyone for help!"_

Misha and Krile stared at them as their argument spiraled out of control. Milei raised her palms defensively and uttered, "Okay, okay, I get it! Don't raise your voice like that!"

"And you stop being so bloody judgmental, _princess!_ Not everyone has to behave the way you want them to!"

"Ah-!" Misha gasped as she noticed other people looking in their direction. "That's enough, you two! Come on, let's make up already, shall we? We're all in this boat together, so let's just get along and enjoy the ride, okay?"

"… Che," Melvin spat at the ground and sauntered away from the sisters.

"Right, nothing to see here, folks! Move along, show's over!" Misha urged the onlookers to continue about their business, and they did.

Krile mentally said to Durandal, _"That's the kind of waste of energy I was referring to."_

" _It might look that way to you, but that wasn't the case. Melvin told you about having beliefs, so their little argument should tell you that he holds true to his beliefs even if it means getting into disagreements with his friends. He wants them to know that he doesn't like it when people are alone, such as how he perceives your situation. That must be why he was so accepting of you back in Kawabata. Reading those cues from others' conversations allows you to pick up clues about their personalities and how to speak accordingly to them."_

" _Sort of like how I read an enemy's movements and find a critical moment to strike."_

" _I suppose such an analogy would work for you… But don't treat everything as a combat situation. This is the real world we're talking about here. Not every solution out there involves a sword."_

Krile yawned and looked around before asking, "Where is the train?"

"It's over here," Melvin showed her the way to the station, and the two sisters followed a short distance behind them. As they reached the platform, they felt the ground shake beneath their feet a bit.

"Hey, did you feel that?" Misha asked.

"I wonder if it was an earthquake," Milei wondered. "But I haven't heard the surveyors mention anything about discovering fault lines in this area."

They felt the tiny tremors again. Now the bystanders around them were getting concerned. Then another shake happened, but this one felt a bit stronger. Each tremble seemed to intensify one by one, and everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence…

" _ **UWAAAHHH!"**_

A man's scream broke the anxious stillness. One of the pedestrians collapsed onto his buttocks and pointed to the mountains in the distance. His look was one of pure, unadulterated fear. Everyone, including the four teammates, followed the trajectory of his finger to the base of the nearest mountain. The tremors were not earthquakes, but _footsteps_ that belonged to a humongous quadruped creature with serpentine scales, massive wings, and grotesque horns on its head. Its long neck protruded around the corner of the mountain, and it caught sight of all of Hokusei's frightened townsfolk.

Milei, Misha and Melvin all shared the exact same look of utter horror, and they instinctively backed away. Krile observed the mighty beast with alien calmness. Misha's knees shook uncontrollably, and she grabbed hold of her sister while hopelessly stammering, "A… A… Ah…"

"It can't be…" Milei likewise wanted to fall to the ground in despair.

No one wanted to say the inevitable. If they did, it would open some forbidden box that they were not allowed to touch. The monster sauntered around the mountain and showed its entire body, tail included, to the stunned spectators. Melvin's teeth clattered, and he momentarily lost control of his voice, breaking open the taboo package;

" _ **A DRAGON!"**_


	5. Remnants of a Scarlet History

**TALES OF OBSCURA**

 **Chapter 5: Remnants of a Scarlet History**

Complete chaos flooded all of Hokusei. Everyone started screaming for their very lives and fleeing from the angry monster that invaded their town. People accidentally tripped over or rammed into each other in blind panic.

"H-Hey, are you joking with me!?" Milei stammered. "That's impossible! How can there be a dragon here!?"

"Sis, we need to run!" Misha pulled her arm. "Quick, we need to hide or we're gonna get killed!"

"Get your ass moving, princess!" Melvin snatched Milei's arm and forced her to run along with him. They managed to get out of the immediate vicinity before the monster could attack. With no significant military presence to speak of, all the citizens could do was abandon the station and let it cause all the property damage it wanted. Although the platform was empty by now, only one person remained behind; Krile.

She didn't join in the frenzy whatsoever. She simply stared at the massive dragon as it lumbered its way through Hokusei's outskirts toward the town. Each of its steps rocked the ground, but she wasn't intimidated in the slightest. It caught sight of the only human defiant enough to stand between it and finding its next meal in the villagers. Krile withdrew Durandal and held it before her, pointing it right between the dragon's eyes as if issuing a silent challenge. It didn't look pleased by her gesture and opened its mouth to breathe fire. She expected this however, and she deftly flipped around before running along its side.

" _Are you sure about this, Krile?"_ Durandal asked her. _"Although you trained against large animals in the past, this is a creature on a completely different scale."_

" _I'm fine. It may be harder to find an opportunity, but the strategy should be the same,"_ she replied.

" _Then keep your eyes open and remain mobile at all times. You should be able to use your speed and dexterity to outpace its movements."_

" _Got it."_

The swordsman ducked aside the dragon's head as it tried to bite her in half, then she pivoted on the ball of her foot and spun Durandal around in her hand like an oscillating fan, calling out, **"Kuuchuu Rengejunkan."**

Thanks to the sword's reinforced blade, it dug through the protective scales and managed to flay some delicate flesh beneath. The dragon roared, not anticipating to feel pain. It pounded its feet on the ground as she back flipped away, then did a twirling finishing jump the moment it swung its long tail to try and sweep her aside. The vicious rush of the appendage swiping directly beneath her made her lose her balance, and she skidded to a stop to catch her breath.

" _That tail is going to be a problem. See if you can try to cut it off,"_ Durandal suggested.

* * *

Meanwhile, Melvin and the others had fled the scene and found shelter in the nearest mine entrance along with the majority of the other terrified spectators. The dark elf looked around frantically and asked the sisters, "Hey, where's Krile!?"

"Wasn't she with you?" Milei wondered.

"Son of a-! Did she get lost in the crowd or something!?"

"No, I haven't seen her anywhere!" Misha shook her head.

Melvin's heart sunk as he feared the worst; that she was still outside, with no one around to protect her. Not thinking of his own safety, he hurried back out and returned to the platform. He choked up in a helpless daze as he finally found her dueling the dragon.

" _By the gods!"_ he screamed. He didn't know what to think. No, perhaps coherent thought was beyond him at this point. All he wanted was to get Krile out of this situation.

" _KRILE!"_ Misha shrieked behind him. She and Milei had followed him back out and saw the same thing he did.

"Stay where you are! Don't move an inch!" Melvin demanded. "I'm gonna try and get her out of there!"

"You can't! No one can survive against a dragon!" Milei objected.

"SHUT UP!" he raged while brandishing his twin axes and charging into the fray with a crescendo battle yell. While he ran, he put his weapons together and cast Fireball, the most basic Ifrit Thauma-related spell that even a child could conjure. He hurled a series of flaming orbs at the beast's body, lightly singing the scales but not damaging its flesh beneath.

 _Shit! I knew fighting it head-on would be pointless!_

Pure despair gripped Melvin's soul, but he was determined to rescue his friend. He yelled, "Hey! Look over here, you worthless hellbeast!"

It got the monster's attention, and it focused its gaze upon him. He shouted at Krile, "Now! Get out of there while you-!"

She didn't do as he said. She instead scurried to the opposite side.

" _YOU IDIOT! What the hell are you-!?"_

The dragon opened its mouth and breathed fire right at Melvin.

" _ **UUUWAAAAAAGHH!"**_ he shrieked as the roaring flames engulfed him. Although his skin was singed, his innate resistance to fire allowed him to survive what would have incinerated others. He fell to his knees and gasped small puffs of smoke out of his throat. His dried-up eyes screamed for relief, so he was forced to squint to minimize the stinging pain. Just as the dragon was about to claw him to death however, it suddenly screeched in agony. A peculiar thud could be heard behind the beast, and Melvin realized what had happened; Krile managed to cut its tail off while it had been distracted with him.

The furious and equally tail-less dragon turned around to return its full attention to Krile. Since it assumed Melvin was incapacitated enough, it would focus on eliminating the bigger threat before taking him out. It clamored straight for her and swiped its claws in a mad frenzy. It was all she could do to stay away by flipping backwards, swooping aside, and sidestepping. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to find another chance to strike without an effective distraction; staying on the defensive was already taking a toll on her stamina.

"Melvin!" Misha called out and kneeled next to him.

"What the hell are you doing here!? I told you to get away!" he grunted.

"Forget that! Here, let me patch you up… **First Aid!** "

Meanwhile, Milei barged into the battle and saw the wounds Krile made earlier. If they were deep enough to cause the dragon to bleed, she could take advantage of them to pierce through and potentially create a huge dent in its natural scale armor.

" **Nocturnal Light!"** she called out and energized her throwing daggers with holy magic from her Rem Thauma. She threw them in a broad fanning motion, and some of the projectiles indeed buried themselves inside the wounds and exploded with sacred energy, puncturing the skin even further. The dragon's cry of anguish deafened the group's ears, but it was a sign that they were making excellent progress.

"Heh… Heh hah hah hah hah! Once you find a chink in its armor, even a dragon is no big deal!" Melvin laughed. Feeling rejuvenated from Misha's healing, he got back on his feet and rushed in to join the fray. He put his arms together and channeled raw energy into both his hands and weapons.

" **Shishi-"**

He thrust them forth, and the face of a roaring lion exploded forth.

" _ **SENKOU!"**_

The chi-infused lion's head growled and mercilessly dug its teeth into the exposed skin, creating an even bigger wound than before and shattering more iron-tough scales. The dragon was angry beyond comprehension. If it was going to die, it would at least take one of these small nuisances along with it. The beast bared its teeth and opened wide, wanting to snap down on Melvin's neck and decapitate him.

"SHIT!" he screamed, unable to dodge in time.

Suddenly, Krile ran straight for Melvin and stepped on his shoulder.

"Wha-!?"

She vaulted off him to gain some height over the confused dragon. She twirled around like a top to position herself just over its neck before grasping Durandal with both hands.

" **Hououtenku,"** she murmured with a placid, ethereal voice. Her body became enveloped in glowing pink flames which spread out into wings and formed the image of a blazing bird. Hououtenku would normally be represented with a phoenix, but Krile's version instead had a cherry-colored crane. She angled her upper body upside-down and aimed Durandal straight for the nape of the dragon's neck. Then she swooped in as if she were in flight, driving the sword through the thick hide and into the spinal cord with all her might.

The dragon stopped moving. It let out a throaty death moan before losing its strength and falling prone to the ground. Its gargantuan body crashed so hard that the immediate area shook violently for a moment. The head was the last thing to go limp, and it closed its eyes for the final time. Krile extracted Durandal from the wound and climbed her way back down its spiny back. She swiped the sword, forcefully removing excess blood from the blade before returning it to her scabbard, looking as if nothing happened.

However, to the stunned spectators who had emerged from their hiding spots and witnessed the battle, it was like seeing a miracle. They murmured amongst themselves, wondering who in the world this strange girl in red clothes was. Her traveling companions reunited with her, and Misha inspected her for injuries while asking, "Are you okay!? You're not hurt!?"

"No significant issues to report," Krile replied soullessly.

"Geez, what the hell were you thinking!?" Milei demanded. "What possessed you to take on a _dragon_!? You should've ran away like everyone else!"

"If it were allowed to continue its rampage, the train tracks would have been damaged, which means that we would have been stalled here for an unforeseeable amount of time. Since you were all in a hurry to go to Eikimi, I took the steps necessary to keep the station running."

"You shouldn't have worried like that. If it came to it, we would've just climbed the mountains or asked the miners for help."

"Even so, utilizing the railways is the most efficient use of our time."

"But that's not-"

"Krile," Melvin interrupted Milei. His dour, stone-hard expression was as terse as his tone of voice.

"Is something the matter?" the swordsman asked.

"… Don't _ever_ do something like that again."

"Hm? Do what again?"

"Isn't it obvious? Putting yourself in danger over such a stupid reason."

"Although the risks were high, the result was the most important-"

"I don't give a damn about results!"

"Why not? Everyone always strives for favorable outcomes. I don't see how this is any different."

"Argh…" the dark elf trembled with anger. "You don't get it at all, do you?"

"You need to explain to me. I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I… I don't… _**I don't believe you!**_ Have you never had anyone worry themselves sick about you!? Haven't you ever had someone tell you not to get into dangerous situations like that!?"

"Hmm…" Krile murmured. Her genuinely contemplative expression only infuriated him further. Then she said, "I think my mom would say such a thing. But it's been so long that I don't remember clearly."

Melvin was stunned silent. Just how emotionally _removed_ was this girl!? It was like he was talking to an alien being that he couldn't hope to comprehend! He wanted to yell at her, but he was afraid she wouldn't understand why he was being so upset after such a hard-earned victory. He took a deep breath, then murmured, "Anyway… Just, don't go running off by yourself anymore. Maybe you had all the freedom in the world to do that in the forest, but things are different now. We're supposed to look after each other and make sure we're not risking our lives. It's what we do as friends and combat allies."

Krile paused, pondering what he was telling her. "… You have a point. The world is completely different than what I expected. I'll have to adjust my strategy patterns to compensate for this, although it might be difficult."

"What's so difficult about it? If everyone tells you it's dangerous, you don't go. Forget about risking yourself to accomplish something you want. Even if you may find it cumbersome, try thinking of other ways to get around a problem than just charging in blindly. You don't want to make everyone angry with you, do you?"

"Angry… The emotion that results from different beliefs and opinions clashing without resolution…"

"Right? That's what we talked about earlier. I don't want to be mad at you whatsoever, but if you keep pulling such stunts, I may have no choice."

"Understood."

Milei added, "The same goes for Misha and I. Don't do that again, okay? Your life is too precious to throw away like that."

"Worry not. Until I complete my objective, I'll take the necessary steps to preserve my safety."

"Your objective?"

"Apparently she's on some kind of a 'mission', although she wouldn't tell me what," Melvin said.

"A mission, huh? Probably just looking for answers to why there were bandits near her home."

"I guess so."

"H-Have we sorted things out now?" Misha nervously asked. "I thought for a second you and Krile were going to have a huge fight. I really hate having to break those up, y'know."

"Nonsense. Not once have I seen her raise her voice," Melvin scoffed. "I don't think she'd fight with anyone, no matter how loud or difficult they may be."

"That's true. It's a waste of energy to exert vocal dominance over another," Krile muttered.

"You don't have to make it sound so boring…"

Milei sighed while staring at the dragon's corpse along with everyone else. Stationed guards rushed to the scene and demanded order among the curious spectators. She put her hands on her hips and grumbled, "Anyway, no matter how you slice it, this is one hell of a monster. If this were Old Qlipott, I wouldn't be surprised if it came from the Scarlet Moon."

"But this is New Qlipott," Misha reminded her. "There's no way any of the Scarlet Moon's creatures could be here. We left that behind just as much as we did the planet."

"I know that, but I'm just really puzzled."

"The Scarlet Moon?" Krile whispered.

"Do you remember? That was the reason we were forced to leave Qlipott in the first place."

She paused. Durandal said to her, _"It is the Lord of Calamity that threatened to eliminate humanity - a blood-red moon swarming with powerful monsters like that dragon. It's said to be a malevolent entity from an alien world that exists to absorb all life from other planets to sustain itself."_

"That kind of dragon had to have come from the Scarlet Moon," Melvin mused. "But that just isn't possible. We fled Qlipott before the Scarlet Moon could devour the last vestiges of humanity."

"How far is Qlipott from here?"

"Light years upon light years away. Even if it is some kind of evil incarnate, a moon of that size would never be able to travel that distance in just 10 years. It'd probably take millions of years before it could find us here, if at all."

"Then maybe the dragon was a creature that's native to New Qlipott," Krile suggested.

"Hey, hey, are you serious?" the dark elf trembled. "I don't want to deal with another one of those things for the rest of my life!"

"Maybe she has a point," Milei said. "It did look a lot smaller than the dragons that swarmed Qlipott's skies all the time."

"Uwah! Was that really such a thing, Sis!?" Misha shuddered.

"You were pretty young when we migrated here, so you wouldn't remember. But yeah, it was a powerful being of destruction that caused the earth to rot, preventing farmers from growing crops. Monster attacks were common, and wild dragons dominated the lands at the Scarlet Moon's behest. We were practically on the verge of extinction when the Association managed to finish the Lance of Kresnik on time."

"Wow… That sounds like a lot…"

"No kidding. Seeing that dragon made my blood run cold. I could remember that deep red sky, peppered with the massive forms of dark-scaled dragons flying above us like hungry vultures. Ooh, just the thought of it will give me nightmares…"

"Yeah," Melvin sighed. "To be perfectly honest with you, I was scared shitless. Compared to that hell, this is a literal godsend."

Krile listened to them intently, but said to Durandal, _"I'm not really following what they're talking about."_

" _I taught you before, didn't I?"_ the sentient sword replied. _"The Lance of Kresnik is the spell that connected Qlipott to this world, which acted as a bridge for the remaining population to move from that planet to this one."_

" _I remember that. But what's strange is that even though I told them New Qlipott might have dragons, that's not actually the case. Is it possible that one was sucked into the Lance when it was activated and wound up here by mistake?"_

" _I'm not sure. If that really happened, you'd think the citizens would have seen it when they first landed here."_

" _Then where did it come from?"_

" _There's too much we don't know. Instead of worrying about the unknown, you should focus on your current objectives while searching for more information."_

" _Understood."_

"Hey, Krile!" Misha called to her. She, Milei and Melvin were several feet ahead of her while she was preoccupied in her silent conversation with Durandal. "Don't dawdle or we'll leave you behind!"

She jogged to catch up as they entered the train and took a seat. Although the conductor was hesitant about restarting the locomotive, a group of engineers inspected the heavy vehicle and the tracks ahead for damage. Fortunately, the battle with the dragon had been confined to a space that had been far away enough from Hokusei Station to not cause any serious setbacks. Thus, the conductor was given the okay to get the train back up and running.

Although the vast majority of the passengers declined to re-enter out of fear of another attack, there were still some patrons plus a load of cargo that needed to be delivered to Eikimi, so shutting down the operation was not an option. After an hour of inspections and tests, the steam train finally whirred to life and started chugging down the track. The route remained the same; taking the northwestern tracks from the Hieizou-Eikimi border straight to Ran'u Station, right in the capital city of Eikimi.

While Milei and Misha chatted between themselves, Melvin leaned his mouth in to Krile's ear and said, "Still, it's a good thing you were able to slay that dragon. How'd you know where its weak point was?"

Krile yawned and wiped her eyes. "Whether it's a dragon, an Eggbear or a wolf, they're still animals. Any and all mammals have particular nerves that can be disabled to cripple them. The trick is to know where to find them."

"Aren't you afraid of challenging such huge beasts?"

"Fear is nothing more than a hindrance."

"Seriously? Have you forgotten how bad it was on Qlipott? Those memories would give anyone cold feet when it comes to fighting anything bigger than themselves."

"Memories are needless on the field of battle," Krile muttered and yawned again.

Melvin noticed how fatigued she was and asked, "You tired?"

"I need to lie down. Otherwise my mental faculties will not function properly when I need them the most."

"I gotcha. It'll take about eight hours, so we should be there when you wake up. Hopefully you're not too exhausted from that battle."

"I'll be fine," she said and laid on her side. She eventually dozed off to the rhythmic sounds of the train wheels rolling along the track and each of the cabooses chugging with each other.

* * *

In the world of her dream, Krile kneeled beneath a cherry blossom tree that spread its pink-covered branches over a set of small graves. She had physically regressed back to when she was nine years old, wearing a white, red and pink set of patterned clothes reminiscent of what the Ainu tribe wore. Her gazed was fixated upon the graves while she had stacks of paper next to her, along with some origami cranes she had folded. She was in the middle of folding yet another one when she heard heavy footsteps in the grass behind her.

"Are you all right?" Durandal's voice asked her.

"No significant issues to report," Krile responded in her usual deadpan tone. She didn't bother looking back at the personification of the Godslayer sword, since she already knew what he looked like.

He sighed, then said, "Listen to me. I know that we started this journey with the intent of fighting some fierce battles. I know that we will one day have to engage upon our common enemy with that kind of fervor. However, I don't expect you to fight those battles alone."

"Why not?"

"Because it's simply not possible. Yes, I raised you to be the best fighter that you could be. But that doesn't mean you should get any ideas about taking on every possible foe out there. Vengeance may be important, but your safety is the topmost priority."

"I don't understand. You cannot exact vengeance upon our enemy in that form, so you groomed me to be the one who slays him in your stead, using the sword you have been branded upon. It's for that reason that I exist. Any sort of concerns for my safety should be secondary, not the other way around."

"Krile," Durandal murmured, "don't say that about yourself."

"It's only natural. Humans are meant to serve gods," Krile murmured as she finished her current origami crane and moved on to the next one. "I am doing my part as the human servant of the Great Spirit of War. Your desire for revenge is my mission. I exist to exact it in your stead."

"Stop talking like that! I don't want you thinking you're just a tool for me to use! No, even more than that! I want you to stop thinking that humans are beneath gods!"

"You're saying they aren't?"

"I know it's difficult for you to believe, given what happened to you 10 years ago. But I believe it's possible for humans and gods to co-exist without this hierarchy binding us all!"

"Oh. So you're saying it's just a possibility. However, the reality is that humans are designed to obey those who are stronger than them. I fail to see how my services for you are any different."

"Krile… I really wish you could understand… I truly don't want you to think that I'm your master, and that you're my servant. We are equals standing together on the battlefield against a common enemy. You may not have the capacity to understand, but know this; that man ruined both of our lives. Whether you want to fight for vengeance, justice, or any other reason is up to you, but remember that you have a stake in this battle just as much as I do. Just as you're devoted to being my wielder, I too wish to be by your side as the blade that protects you. I want us to march together towards the goal of killing that man and freeing the citizens from his iron grip."

She fell silent for a few moments. She started making a new origami crane, then muttered, "So what you're saying is that you're a god with a different kind of thinking."

"If that's the best way for you to understand it, then yes, I don't believe in the same things my fellow gods do."

"I wonder what made you think that way."

"Well it's a rather long tale, but the one who raised me was a major influence. Of course, being around you in your darkest hours really put my mentor's teachings in perspective, and I'm even more committed to seeing a world where humans and Great Spirits can live together," Durandal explained. "If it was possible for the two of us, it isn't hard for me to imagine an entire world like that. But as long as that snake of a god exists, it will remain but only an illusion."

"Hence the necessity for training me."

"Indeed. But this isn't just about me. I want you to remember how his twisted schemes destroyed who you once were, and to find a reason you believe is worthy enough to fight for. If you are unable to hold a grudge against him, then witness the anguish he puts your fellow humans through and decide if that's something you'd wish to see continue."

"Witness anguish? How do I do that?"

"You need to regain your ability to empathize with others. I know it's sudden for you to interact with people when you lived in isolation for a decade, but you need to see how depraved and wicked this world has become, masked beneath a façade of peace and stability, in order to see others' suffering. Just as you saved the people of Kawabata, Tsuchiya, and Hokusei, there will be many others who'll need your help. Whether or not you can emotionally connect with them will be an issue, but as long as you fight for those who cannot defend themselves, you may slowly regain the feelings that you lost, and you will be able to forge new bonds with people. That is the most important thing you must focus on during this journey. Fighting for what you believe in is not possible without the heart to do so, and yours was gravely damaged all those years ago."

Krile was unsure of how to interpret his kind words – whether he was being strict with her, or if she could figure things out at her own pace. She attached some strings to her origami craftwork and tied them together to another thicker cord to create a colorful decoration she could hang from the cherry blossom tree. She wasn't finished her little project whatsoever; she needed to fold 886 more origami cranes to consider the set complete, not to mention that this was the sixth full set she was working on since she started a long time ago.

Durandal could tell that she was feeling overwhelmed by this amount of advice, so he murmured, "I won't say any more for now. But if you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me. You're just taking your first steps back into the world, so you still need guidance on how to interact with others properly. Furthermore, this is a world that you won't be used to whatsoever. It would be troublesome if people found out who you really were, so I'll continue filling you in on what you need to know so you can blend in with this new society better."

"Understood."

* * *

"Krile? Krile! Wake up!"

"Hm?" the swordsman stirred awake and rubbed her eyes. She momentarily forgot where she was, but when she opened her eyes and saw the interior of the Yotsuda steam train, everything came back to her.

 _Yesterday… was that dragon attack, wasn't it?_

"Mornin'," Melvin greeted her. "We're just about to reach Ran'u Station."

"Mm," she grumbled and stared out the window. While she had slept, the train weaved through the entire southwestern mountainscape of Eikimi and breached the forests of the western side of the country. Ran'u, the capital city, was tucked in the middle of a mountainous natural spring surrounded by massive waterfalls that constantly gushed water through small crevices in the bedrock. The waters streamed along the countless rivers and fjords that ran along the countryside, providing rich sources of fresh water to farmers and townsfolks alike. Ran'u, or 'Indigo Rain', was named precisely for the wet mists that constantly surrounded the city and produced rainbows on any sunny day. Many called it the most beautiful city in the world, rivaling Sumizome's technical marvels with majestic landscapes and memorable sights.

Of the very first cities founded after the Great Migration, Ran'u turned out to be the most popular, mainly due to its abundant natural resources at first. Its population swelled to such numbers that the Queen actually had to put a limit to how many residents could live here. It explained the high numbers of nobles erecting stunning mansions over the many lakesides; they bought their way into the city and hoarded whatever available territory their money could buy. Predictably, this wound up skyrocketing property prices for homes situated near the rivers and lakes, while smaller homes more in the city were not as costly.

Of course, the most expensive property in the entire city was the castle. With the best view of the waterfalls, streams, lakes, and forests from all around, Ran'u Castle was every girl's dream palace. It was rumored that some of the rooms that nobles could afford to live in were actually pricier than the mansions on the riverfronts. Even more so, the nobility were not allowed to live on any rooms higher than the first floor. The second floor and above were reserved for the royal family and their servants.

This magnificent castle with its romantic view was what caught Krile's eye as she stared outside. She had never seen anything so majestic, and since she was a nature girl at heart, the sight captivated her. She kept her eyes on the scene as the group made their way out of the train and headed through the busy town. Unlike the rural villages they visited before, the ground was paved with intricate brickwork and the shops lined up next to each other in either shared compartments or tightly compressed buildings. Some people even operated quaint little businesses out of such small homes if they couldn't afford the cost of keeping up an operation. Street vendors hawked souvenirs and meals that could be prepared quickly such as yakisoba, okonomiyaki, or takoyaki.

Krile swallowed as the decadent smells whet her appetite, and she whispered to Melvin, "I'm starving."

"Just be patient. We'll get a much better meal than that at the castle."

"Do they have salmon? Or mackerel?"

"They will."

"How about tuna?"

"Yes."

"I haven't had sushi in a long time. Are there any of those little street shops that sell it?"

"I don't know. I haven't actually looked for sushi before."

"So you wouldn't know if there's sashimi either."

Melvin chuckled, "You really love seafood, don't you?"

"When I couldn't hunt, fish was the primary source of my dietary intake. You could say I acquired a taste for it."

"I see. Then there'll definitely be something at the palace."

"How long until we get there?" Krile asked. "It feels like we aren't making any progress no matter how far we walk."

"Relax. It takes half an hour just to get to the entrance. Then I would expect a wait for an audience with the Queen, after which we'll get to eat."

She closed her eyes in dejection and sighed. He gave her some snacks and said, "Here, fuel up with this. Wouldn't do you any good to meet with Eikimi's head honcho on an empty stomach. I'll show you around after we're done our business."

"Much obliged."

* * *

The viewing tower of Ran'u Castle was the highest structure in the city, which only the royals had access to. Although it required a lengthy trip up a series of winding stairs, the panoramic view of Ran'u and the fields beyond was definitely worth it. Due to the impracticality of traveling up and down the long staircase, the tower was never used in official business unless the visiting ambassador requested it, in case they wanted to keep the conversation as private as possible. Otherwise, the structure was reserved for private use in case the country's leaders wanted to relax or do paperwork without disturbance.

At the moment, no such urgent business was needed. Mikami Eikimi, the venerable yet stern Queen of Eikimi, sat upon a grand chair next to a tea table and sipped some imported matcha tea from Hieizou. She took in the sights of the bustling city she reigned over, yet didn't feel any sort of superiority complex about being on such a higher social level than the citizens down below. In fact, she felt the complete opposite; that she wished she could be the part of a bigger scene like this, rather than hoisted on a lonely pedestal and revered as some kind of goddess in human flesh. But over the years, Mikami had grown adjusted to such a life and chose not to take her position for granted. No matter how much she yearned to escape her duties as the Queen, she didn't want to cause trouble for those around her, so she never rebelled against her destiny.

She ate some delicate cookies while thinking about her younger sisters. If she couldn't live the life she wanted, then Milei and Misha were more than happy to go out on her behalf and tell her all about their adventures. Mikami had sent them on a patrol job in Hieizou last week and didn't know when to expect them back. That was why she perched herself in this tower; to observe the main entrance in anticipation for her sisters' return.

Footsteps on the stone stairwell drew the queen's attention, and she turned her head to see who was visiting her. A black-haired man in his late 20's arrived and kneeled before her in respect, then took a seat next to her.

"How are we this morning?" he asked.

"The same as usual. The city is as active as ever, I see."

"Are you worrying about your sisters again?"

"It's hard to deny that. I know how capable they are, but I wonder if I am underestimating the dangers in Hieizou and exposing them to a situation they cannot handle."

"Hm," the man murmured. "I too am fretting about that nation's issues, albeit for different reasons."

"Such as?"

"What sort of hard evidence will be brought to me for further examination. All of these organized activities I've been hearing about cannot possibly be unrelated. There must be some kind of link binding them all together, and I fear the possibilities for who could be behind this are quite limited."

"Indeed. It's only been 10 years since the Great Migration, and yet there are already such signs of discord," Mikami sighed. "You would expect this to happen about 50 or 100 years down the line when society has better established itself, not when we are in the very first pioneering phases."

"Perhaps our culprits are moving precisely for this reason. A new world means new opportunities, regardless if they are beneficial or detrimental for society as a whole. But our responsibility is to ensure that Eikimi can prove its innocence to the other nations and cooperate on a potential intercontinental investigation into these insurgents. I, as the Minister of Justice, will not allow any unwarranted suspicion to fall upon this nation."

"And you've certainly been working hard to that end, Kiraki," the queen nodded and stood up along with her husband. They hugged each other for a minute, reinforcing the support they had for each other.

Mikami took another glance out the window and said, "We should return and see about… Oh!?"

"What is it?" Kiraki asked.

The queen rushed over to the mounted binoculars and angled them down at the castle's entrance. She could see Milei and Misha greeting the guards, with Melvin and Krile following behind. Mikami exclaimed, "They have returned! My sisters are already back from their work!"

The flustered ruler forgot her manners and hurried down the stairs to reunite with her siblings. Kiraki smiled at his wife's impatience and looked outside himself. He recognized Melvin as one of his soldiers, but when he gazed upon the disinterested Krile, his eyes widened and his skin paled a shade or two.

 _That's…_

He paused in astonishment. Then a light grin crept on his lips. Without saying a word, he followed Mikami down the tower.

* * *

"We're ba~aack!" Milei called out and waved to everyone in the castle.

"Welcome back, Princess!" one of the maids greeted her with a respectful bow. "How was your trip to Hieizou?"

"Could've gone better, but at least it wasn't boring. Where's Mikami?"

"Eagerly awaiting your return in the observation tower, of course."

"Milei! Misha!" the queen's voice echoed out from the hallways. The elegantly dressed woman approached her sisters as fast as she could in her bulky outfit, disregarding the necessary manners one should have as a ruler so she could happily embrace her siblings. "I'm so glad you both made it home safely. I've been hearing some unsettling rumors and thought you would be caught up in them somehow."

"Rumors?" Misha asked.

"Such as some kind of predator assaulting Hokusei yesterday evening. I knew you two would have to go through that station to return here, but I thought you wouldn't have been there… But then, wait a minute!" Mikami's heart froze in realization. "If you just arrived now, that means you would have been present during that supposed attack! Is this true!?"

"It is. Furthermore, it wasn't just any ordinary beast - it was a dragon!"

"A dragon?" Mikami gasped in horror.

"Don't worry. No one was hurt or killed, and it was slain."

"Slain? Who could have done such a thing?"

"I know you won't believe it, but it was none other than-!"

"That young lady in red clothes over there. Am I wrong?" Kiraki's unusually calm voice broke through the clamor. He emerged and slowly walked toward the group, yet never took his eyes off Krile. Likewise, she focused her attention on him. For some reason, everyone else felt extremely nervous around the two warriors. The invisible tension they emitted seemed to drown the entire hall in anxiety and anticipation.

That was when Kiraki took out his large katana, Gouran, and charged straight at Krile. She instinctively withdrew Durandal and parried his attack, forcing them into a stalemate as they glared at each other with the intensity of rival predators.


	6. The Scar of Six Years Ago

**TALES OF OBSCURA**

 **Chapter 6: The Scar of Six Years Ago**

Sparks flew with each intense clash of the blades. Krile swerved and danced around Kiraki's precision swings, then jumped and flipped backwards to give herself some distance. Everyone else gasped in horror and awe at the spectacle and stepped away to avoid getting caught in the fray. Kiraki dashed toward her, and she parried more of his attacks and countered with her own when she got the chance. The flurry of movement they demonstrated was almost impossible to describe, as if they were superhumans duking it out in a divine contest.

"GRAGH!" Kiraki roared and stabbed forward at Krile's midsection.

To his surprise, she actually hopped straight up and landed on the flat side of Gouran's blade for a split second. She used the leverage to jump over him to perform Hououtenku, swooping down upon him like a pink-flamed crane in flight. Kiraki blocked her blade and planted his feet firmly against the stone flooring, struggling to keep his balance while keeping Krile off him. His deep grey eyes stared at her blue irises, as if he could see straight into her lifeless soul. Despite the thrilling excitement of this battle, her expression remained as stony as ever, acting like this was just a common everyday thing for her.

" _ **That's enough!"**_

The two swordsmen pushed each other away, and Krile flew back before crouching and holding Durandal aside. Kiraki gasped hard and remained in his battle stance with Gouran. The one who commanded them to stop was Mikami, and she stepped forth with the aura that a true queen should possess.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I will not permit such behavior without good explanation," she said, then faced Kiraki. "Especially from you, Minister Kureha. You were the one who assaulted that young woman unprovoked, and she had no choice but to fend for herself. What do you have to say, attacking one of my guests like this?"

He approached his wife and prostrated before her. "I sincerely apologize for my rudeness, Your Majesty. I wanted to confirm something, so I was testing her abilities."

"Confirm? Testing?"

"Indeed, and I had my suspicions verified with that little battle just now. I have not told anyone before, but that girl-"

Kiraki then slid his right arm out of his black armored jacket and let the loose half drop over his belt, exposing the arm and half of his abs. Carved along the length of the upper arm was a grotesque scar that hadn't healed well.

"-Was the one responsible for this injury I sustained."

"No way!" Misha gasped and covered her mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Melvin whispered. "I was only joking when I thought Krile had done it! It was actually true!?"

Mikami glanced over at Krile, who had sheathed Durandal and stood there like an emotionless statue. The queen asked her husband, "Who is this? I do not recognize her."

Kiraki grinned. "Remember when I visited Hieizou six years ago? That was shortly before we married."

"Ah, that's right. You returned with bandages all over you. Every time I inquired about them, you always refused to answer me. Then you gained a strange fixation with returning to that country once every month of Shadow for the next few years. I still don't understand the reasoning for all of this strange behavior you've been exhibiting, which has caused me a slight degree of frustration."

"I am terribly sorry for my actions. But with her presence here, I feel it is right to explain everything."

Milei asked, "Are you saying you met Krile before?"

"Krile?" he murmured, then faced the silent girl. "Is that your name?"

"… Krile Shizumori…" she whispered.

"So you finally introduce yourself. This is the first time I've heard your voice."

"You didn't know her name!?" Milei exclaimed.

"Not until now. I was starting to believe she was actually mute, but that's obviously not the case. Every time I went to Hieizou to challenge her, she would never say a word."

Mikami wondered, "What do you mean?"

Her husband nodded and said, "I'll start at the beginning."

* * *

 **4 NQY, Month of Shadow, Day 17**

 **Six years prior**

The newly built steam train, forged out of metal mined in the local area by professional Gnome Thauma users, chugged to a stop in Hokusei. The 23-year old Kiraki Kureha disembarked and gazed around the town. It hadn't developed as far as it did in the present time, so only the station, some residences for the miners, and a couple of shops had been established here so far. Due to its important location in Hieizou though, he knew it would only be a matter of time before it became a popular city for commerce.

Although the Yotsuda Line was already operational for the capital cities of the four nations, development was still occurring on the tracks that branched out into the more rural towns, especially those in Hieizou. It wouldn't be for another two years until the Yotsuda connected to the small fishing hamlet the Shogun designated as Kawabata, the 'Riverbank' village. Therefore, Kiraki had to disembark the train from Hokusei and travel the rest of the way on foot even though the workers had laid out the majority of the tracks leading to Kawabata. All he had to do was follow their path to get to his destination.

Today, Kiraki was acting as a surveyor for the company that owned Yotsuda. He was going around the entire continent checking to see how progress was coming along. Of course he wasn't the only surveyor around; other men of influence like himself also examined the tracks on a periodic basis to make sure there weren't any significant issues. It also gave him the opportunity to explore this new land that the Qlipottians arrived upon four years ago, allowing him to become familiar with the small continent for his future duties as the Minister of Justice.

At this point, he hadn't married Mikami yet. The most he had accomplished was winning the gladiatorial contest and earning her hand in marriage as his reward, which occurred half a year ago. Although Kiraki was constantly looked down upon by the nobility for being a filthy peasant who was marrying the most important woman in Eikimi, no one could deny his impeccable skills and fearsome strength as a warrior. If there was anyone suited to protect the Queen from any danger, as well as guide the country's judicial system, it would be him.

The previous Minister of Justice, Migdal Eikimi, was the country's regent after the previous Queen passed away shortly before the Great Migration. Unlike Kiraki's humbler origins, Migdal was as vain and elitist as they came, using his power and wealth as an important shareholder of the Yotsuda Line to win his way to the second-most important position of Eikimi. Due to matriarchal law, Migdal had to step down as regent when his oldest daughter Mikami came of age and could succeed her mother as Queen. That didn't stop Migdal from trying to interfere with Mikami's impending marriage to Kiraki, and the swordsman knew it. He gazed upon the engagement band around his left ring finger and pondered about the importance of his current duties.

 _It was Minister Migdal's idea to send me to Hieizou, even though the Shogun is perfectly capable of sending someone themselves to do the same job. If I know that man, he's probably trying to make Mikami change her mind by introducing her to suitors that fit his tastes more. His attempts to hold on to whatever little power he has remaining is all too obvious. If he can't rule the country, then he would try to control the ruler herself._

Kiraki sighed and thought of his worrywart fiancée as she bid him good travels a few days ago. She didn't want him to leave, but Migdal stressed the importance of asserting Eikimi's presence in Hieizou, and that someone as 'famous' as Kiraki was the best for the task. Both of them knew it was just a way for Migdal to get rid of Kiraki and give himself some time to convince Mikami to call off the engagement.

 _All I can do is trust that Mikami won't give in to her father's pressure…_

No amount of worrying was going to do him any good though. He had to focus on meeting up with the maintenance workers and asking for an update. He had a black stallion waiting for him in the stables, and he mounted it before taking off for the southeastern plains. On horseback, it would take the remainder of the day for him to pass Tsuchiya and arrive at the current location of the developing train tracks. He arrived at his destination and got off the horse to inspect the unfinished railway.

"Wow," Kiraki murmured to himself. "They're sure coming a long way."

The foreman spotted his guest and hurried over, rubbing his hands nervously and exclaiming, "Good day, Minister Kureha! I'm glad to see you've arrived safely!"

"No, no, I'm not the Minister of Justice yet. That's going to happen next year," the swordsman replied jovially. "You don't need to be so formal either. As far as I'm concerned, we're both laborers in service to the civil community."

"Of course, sir. Then, this way."

Kiraki followed the foreman around the work site. The railway workers were busy either digging up the ground ahead and laying stone track ballast, laying the flat-bottom steel panels, or lining the rails and affixing them to the panels. They would finish about a third of a mile per day, making the work rather slow and sluggish at times. But safety was the most important thing, and the steam train company demanded a top priority on making sure the tracks were solid enough to last for decades without any accidents. Although it was a stressful job to meet this demand, the pay was excellent for the builders.

Kiraki smiled lightly with pleasure, knowing that everyone was doing their part to pioneer this new world. He felt he could connect with these people more than the insufferable nobles who had no concept of hard work. As far as he cared, they existed only to throw money around for projects, then take all of the credit for a job well done. The foreman noticed his smirk and asked, "How do you like, Mr. Kureha?"

"It's splendid. I can hardly wait to take the Yotsuda upon these very tracks."

"I'm glad to hear that, sir. Since you're here, I thought I could confide a small problem we've been having lately."

"A problem?"

"No, no, no, it's nothing to do with the work itself! I mean, uh…" the foreman wiped his sweating brow with a cloth.

"I already said you don't need to worry about being so uptight with me. Now, what is this issue you wish to discuss?"

"Of course, of course… Actually, my men have been mentioning that wild animals have been stealing our food supplies, which is why we keep requesting for more."

"Wild animals? Honestly. I've been hearing that all over the continent, but the company doesn't have enough manpower to send soldiers to protect the workers."

"I understand that, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. Actually… I think it'd be better if I showed you."

Kiraki became puzzled as he followed the older man to the nearby campsite. They approached the tents furthest away from the work until they saw something covered beneath a large blanket. The foreman grabbed the corner of the cloth and murmured, "It's this…"

He pulled it off in one motion to show Kiraki what was beneath. It was the corpse of an Eggbear, a type of ursine creature notable for the females laying eggs rather than having young like other mammals would. This one was a male, and it had obviously decomposed due to the awful stench of rotten flesh and flies buzzing around. However, he noticed that the majority of its fur had been stripped clean, and some pieces of bear meat had been butchered off the bones. There was even a deep cut in its throat indicative of something like a sword or knife being used to slay it.

"How did this happen?" Kiraki asked.

"I wasn't present, but one of the guys told me that that bear was approaching his tent for food. When he scrambled away to safety, he noticed some kind of movement, followed by the bear suddenly falling dead without making a sound."

"When was this?"

"About five nights ago. It was pitch dark, so he couldn't really see what was going on."

"Some kind of movement… An Eggbear with its throat slashed… Missing meat and fur…"

"It could be a monster we don't know about!" the foreman shuddered. "Oh, the humanity! To think that there's something out there that would slaughter us in total silence! Are we really going to be safe out here!?"

"No, I don't think it was a monster," Kiraki replied with a composed tone. "Monsters only hunt for food, but this bear's fur has also been taken along with some meat. If I had to guess, it appears we're dealing with a hunter."

"A hunter?"

"Yes. Did the witness see where the source of the strange movement went after that?"

"I don't know. The forest leads further into Enten River, but no one has been able to investigate it due to the heavy workload. So I was wondering if you could…"

"Say no more. I'll go see if there's anything suspicious there."

"Thank you so much. I'll arrange for you to stay at the inn in Kawabata. Please come back safely, sir."

Kiraki nodded and immediately headed into the woods. He had no idea where to go from here, but if this supposed hunter lived around here, he figured that they would need to stay close to the river for water. The next few hours of searching passed by uneventfully. The only signs of life he could find were the chirping birds and scurrying rodents jumping around the branches, alongside the gentle hum of the flowing river.

He reached as far east as he could in the Enten area, stopping as far as Enten Falls where the waterfall constantly poured from above and showered him in drops of water. Kiraki believed he had come as far as he possibly could, and was disappointed for not finding anything significant.

"It's starting to get dark," Kiraki mumbled to himself. "I should go back and-"

He froze. A dreadful sensation crept down his tingling spine. As an experienced warrior, he recognized the feeling of being stalked upon. Despite the roaring waterfall overtaking his ears, the air felt frightfully still. He brandished an imitation of the legendary sword Gouran and carefully paced about, keeping his eyes wide open so he could spot any potential threats.

 _What is this? No animal in the world can produce such a deathly silent aura…_

Kiraki knew he wasn't dealing with an ordinary foe. A swordsman's training allowed them to heighten their senses and awareness of those around them, so that they could detect anyone with bloodlust and strike accordingly. But no matter how hard he tried to find the actual bloodlust, he couldn't pinpoint the source despite sensing something wrong with the atmosphere.

 _Is this an enemy who can cloak their bloodlust? I've heard of assassins who can accomplish that._

He dared not call out to whoever was pursuing him. A real warrior didn't taunt his enemies out into the open; he would wait for them patiently, anticipating their initiative and maintaining a strong defense to parry it. Unfortunately, that strategy was useful when he could easily detect the opponent's hatred. For some reason, it felt like he was challenging a ghost; something that was present in spirit, but emanated no trace of their physical presence. From a warrior's perspective, this person was invisible.

 _How in the world is this possible? Are they using a Thauma to mask their presence? I haven't heard of any of the 10 elements granting such an ability to their users…_

Kiraki was out in the open near the waterfall so there weren't any real hiding spots that anyone could use to sneak up on him. Yet his opponent was perfectly concealed. It didn't make any sense to him, and he decided not to waste his time comprehending this mystery. If the enemy wouldn't behave as he expected, he had to narrow down his options and discount the possible hiding spots by process of elimination.

 _No boulders… No stalagmites… No trees… No bushes… No branches… There are some caverns nearby, but they're too far away. Wait… Natural caverns… around a waterfall…?_

Just as he pivoted on his heel to face the waterfall, a small figure burst through the torrential waters and clashed their sword against his. The force of their jump nearly made him trip backwards on the slippery rock, but he kept steady and shoved his attacker off him. They landed on their feet and crouched in a battle position, allowing him to get a better look at what they looked like… Or at least, of the Eggbear skin they wore around their entire body like a cloak.

The assailant was definitely shorter than Kiraki, but the head of the fur covered their face and upper body. They did wear a leather dress and moccasins underneath though, and the petite sculpture of their legs told him that this was a girl. He noted the remarkable craftsmanship of her sword; a curved blade like a talwar that had a golden winged hilt and a large blue gem nestled in the center. Her lips were thin and emotionless, giving him the impression that she really did think like an assassin. Although he could see her flat expression of disinterest in the battle, her body possessed the motions of one actively engaged in heavy combat, and the disparity of this contradiction threw him off guard momentarily. It was almost like she was a sleepwalking marionette of some sort.

She latched onto his lack of focus and charged at him with concentrated swings of her sword. He blocked the initial assault easily with his much larger blade, but he could tell she was taking advantage of her high mobility and smaller stature to stymie his bulkier weapon and larger build. Some of her strikes came extremely close to piercing his chest, neck or face – something which he hadn't experienced since the first days he wielded a sword as a child.

"Kgh!" Kiraki grunted. He didn't wish to hurt her, but he needed to get her off him all the same. He managed to swing upwards at her, calling out, **"Sougazan!"**

She had to use her blade as a shield to block his rising sword, throwing her clear off her feet and knocking her bearskin cloak off. She somersaulted backwards several times before landing in a crouching position and calmly staring at him. Without the fur obscuring her identity, Kiraki could see that it was the 13-year old Krile Shizumori wearing a ragged dress and possessing disheveled dark brown hair. Her eyes remained as clear as ever, but in the man's view, it felt like he was staring at a pair of ultramarine voids that bore no passion for the ensuing battle.

After this short breather, they dashed at each other and fervently dueled again. He couldn't find the chance to ask for her name or why she was attacking him. Would she even respond if he did? All he could think about was getting her to calm down, and that meant wearing her out first. He swung sideways and she attempted to parry it, but his strength overcame hers and she lost her grip on her sword.

"Got you!" Kiraki shouted and swung straight down. Krile hopped sideways and twirled on her toes to recover, forcing her away from her weapon. The swordsman stood in front of it to block her way, then called out, "That's enough! I don't want to fight you!"

She didn't look intent on stopping. To his surprise, she actually ran around him in a wide berth while keeping her eyes on her weapon. Kiraki warned, "I told you to stop! If you don't, I'll be forced to apprehend you!"

If his words reached her, they didn't mean anything. Then she extended her arm and opened her hand wide as if grabbing for something. He noticed movement behind him and glared down at her curved blade. It actually trembled to life, then shot off the ground and slammed its hilt straight into Krile's hand! Kiraki watched in fascinated astonishment as she danced about to regain her balance, then stood with her sword before her.

"That power… I sensed a Great Spirit inside that sword…" the stunned man gasped. "It can't be… That's a Swordian!"

Krile didn't say anything. Kiraki clenched his teeth and screamed, "Why do you have that!?"

That was when a second man's voice responded, "She doesn't have to tell you."

"Eh!? Who's there!?"

"Don't be dumb. You noticed my presence just now, Host of Shadow."

Kiraki narrowed his eyes, realizing what this meant. "… I see. It didn't make any sense that a girl so young could last this long against me. But if a Swordian – nay, a Great Spirit – is bringing her up in seclusion, then it all makes sense. Who are you, invisible god?"

"You may refer to me as Durandal."

"Durandal, then. Who is this girl, and why does she possess a weapon that has been prohibited by the four kingdoms?"

"I am not obligated to explain to you. Trying to ask my wielder is also futile. If you haven't noticed already, she lives in a perpetual state of catatonia. Emotions mean nothing to her; only pure, unfettered logic and extensive training."

"Hmph," Kiraki sighed. "Must be real nice to have a broken puppet you can control at whim. Typical of the gods to do such a thing."

Durandal paused. After that moment of tense quiet, he responded, "Say that to me again. I guarantee you will live to regret it."

"Is that a threat, Great Spirit? Then I'll accept it head on. I'll do whatever it takes to wrench that girl out of your clutches."

"Typical of humans to misunderstand the situation," Durandal mocked.

"SILENCE!" the swordsman screamed and rushed at Krile. He channeled dark energy from his Shadow Thauma to enhance his replica Gouran, transforming it into a pitch-black blade with a violet aura surrounding it. Now that he knew he was dealing with a Swordian, he had to match its power by calling upon the element he was born with. He had done this in practice before, but not once had he actually needed to use it in combat until now. Deep down, he was actually feeling really impressed.

Krile didn't do anything to make herself stronger however. All she did was dash at him once more and prepare Durandal for another mighty swipe. He was about to swing down, and she was ready to slash sideways. The two warriors drew closer to each other with each millisecond…

 _ **CLASH!**_

The deafening sound of metal meeting metal reverberated through the air.

Birds flew about in surprise from the sudden sharp noise. Neither warrior moved from their swinging positions for what felt like forever. The silence of the forest was only interrupted by the sound of one of their blades being cut through like butter and separating from the hilt. It turned out to be Kiraki's replica Gouran that snapped into useless halves. The darkness-elemental magic that surrounded it dissipated. But his shocked eyes were not fixated on his ruined sword. What got his attention was the gush of blood that splattered his face from an unprecedented cut in his upper right arm. The nerves in that appendage failed to cooperate with him, and he dropped the hilt after unexpectedly losing his ability to move his arm at will. Judging from how deep the cut was, Krile had come dangerously close to slicing it clean off.

The younger swordsman stood up and stared at Kiraki with chilling clarity in her eyes. His blood dripped off the tip of Durandal, proving her victory over him. But she wasn't done yet. It wasn't that she had a bloodthirsty personality; it was that she had no concept of what mercy meant. If anyone tried to kill her, she would return the favor regardless of morals or reasons. That was how feral she became, and Kiraki realized this the moment he met her languid gaze.

 _I can't win like this…_

He had no choice. He closed his eyes and concentrated on summoning the elemental power of darkness to bid his silent command. Then, as if a dark shroud cloaked the area, the bright daylight gradually turned into the deepest night and completely blocked out the sun. Krile couldn't even see Durandal in her hands, never mind her surroundings. Others would be frightened out of their minds by this spectacle, but she remained on high alert and looked around in the darkness for Kiraki.

"Hmph. Only the bearer of the Greater Shadow Thauma can do this," Durandal murmured. "Which means that man must be Shadow's current Host…"

Both Krile and Durandal paused, hoping to sense even a small fraction of their enemy's presence. Even though she managed to wound his fighting arm, it wasn't a guarantee that she had won. He could be using this darkness to sneak up on her and assassinate her, hence her need for caution. However, that wasn't going to be the case.

"This is your victory," they heard the man call out.

"What?" Durandal uttered.

"It was my mistake to underestimate you. I did not expect you to wield a forbidden Swordian and cause injury to me. But if a Great Spirit is the one taking care of you in this isolated land, that would explain your combat prowess despite your age."

Krile couldn't figure out where Kiraki's voice was coming from. It felt like he had her completely surrounded even though there was only one voice speaking.

"As you wish, I will retreat for now," he continued. "But not without this warning; in the next month of Shadow, I shall return and challenge you again. This means you and I have one year to hone our skills. If I prove victorious next time, I will take you from here and bring you to my home. If you prove victorious, I will repeat this cycle year after year until I defeat you. In the meantime, I will speak of our encounter to no one. Is this understood?"

She didn't respond.

"… Very well. I am Kiraki Kureha, the Cold Steel of Eikimi. Don't forget that."

The darkness surrounding the forest gradually subsided, as if nighttime vanished in high speed back into daytime. Krile could see the trees, rocks and grass again, but there was no sight of Kiraki. All that remained were the split halves of his broadsword lying in the grass.

After a moment, Durandal sighed, "I think we're safe. You can relax now."

She did as told and sheathed the Swordian. He continued, "Such a fearsome opponent. Indeed, no animal in the world can match the cunningness and brutality that humans are capable of. Furthermore, he said he would return in the next month of Shadow, meaning one year's time from now. He must want to use the dark-infused airborne mana to his advantage and defeat you with both that and the power of the Greater Shadow Thauma he possesses."

"… Greater Shadow Thauma?" Krile murmured under her breath.

"Ah, I suppose I haven't told you what those are. My lessons have primarily revolved around the more common Lesser Thaumae, all of which are borne from the Greater Thaumae. Think of the Lesser versions as children to the Greater's parent. There are only 10 Greater Thaumae in the world, one for each element, and they are said to actually possess the Great Spirit's soul and consciousness. If a human is born with an extremely high affinity for that element, they can bear that element's Greater Thauma and possibly communicate with that Great Spirit. These people are known as Hosts, such as that Kureha fellow being the current Host for Shadow's Greater Thauma. It explains his ability to cloud the entire forest in darkness with complete ease, while it may take an entire crowd of Shadow Thauma bearers to accomplish the same thing."

"I see."

"Which means he is not an opponent to take lightly in the future," Durandal warned. "If he already is such an accomplished swordsman, then perhaps he will further hone his darkness powers and figure out a way to confound you through magic. It wouldn't surprise me if he made contact with the Great Spirit of Darkness himself and sought greater power."

"Greater power?"

"When you wounded him, I could sense a foreboding desire emanating from that man's spirit. I immediately knew what it was; the desire to be stronger. All warriors possess that wish. If this was the first time he found an opponent capable of injuring him so gravely, that yearning for greater strength must have sparked to life… Or perhaps he was always like that; a person constantly striving to overcome challenges by acquiring more and more power."

"I don't understand."

"Well, you're a humble girl," Durandal replied. "You're too passive to even consider trying to dominate another. But that man is different. He is a conqueror, through and through."

"So why would he want to try and defeat me? He wouldn't gain anything out of it," Krile wondered.

"I don't think so. He took a great interest in me as a Swordian. He probably sees me as something he could use to make him stronger. As for why he would want to take you back to his homeland, I don't really understand that myself. He may be a power-hungry fellow, but I don't think it is derived out of malicious desire. Not once did I sense hatred emanating from him while you two battled."

"That doesn't make sense. Enemies fight because they hate each other, don't they?"

"That's not always the case. It's a complicated concept that I'll have to explain some other time."

"Oh… I don't like difficult things."

"Don't worry about it for now. Go back to the hideout and rest for today."

"Okay."

* * *

 **10 NQY, Month of Gnome, Day 26**

 **The present day**

"So that was what happened," Mikami murmured.

Kiraki nodded. "As you can tell by now, I returned to Hieizou every year since then to challenge her. But I lost every time, and I haven't been able to bring Krile with me. I haven't met anyone as fine a swordsman as her."

Although he had recounted that tale vividly, there was one detail he omitted; the fact that Krile possessed a Swordian. If his wife found out about this, she would have confiscated Durandal and had it destroyed, and perhaps put Krile in jail for breaking the anti-Swordian laws. Therefore, Kiraki worded it so that Krile had used an ordinary weapon against him, and that she had trained against wild animals by herself rather than being mentored by an unknown Great Spirit.

He approached her and said, "I never thought you would leave that forest and come to my home by your own volition. What has brought you here all of a sudden?"

"The forest was invaded by bandits," Krile explained.

"You mean the criminals that have overrun Hieizou's plains?"

She nodded. "A lot has happened since I left. But Melvin told me about registering as a scout for this country, and I agreed."

"I see. Yes, you would be a most welcome asset to my forces. Let's talk about it while I help you get signed up."

Misha waved at Krile and exclaimed, "Don't forget about what happened in Tsuchiya and Hokusei! Those were some seriously strange events!"

Mikami asked her sister, "What do you mean?"

"Let's talk about it in the conference room."

The two groups split up, and Krile followed Kiraki to the barracks inside the battlements surrounding the castle. Although she had a hard time explaining every possible thing she encountered during her adventure to him, Kiraki understood enough to fill in the gaps for himself.

"Hmm," he grumbled once she finished her story. He had no idea what to be more disturbed by; the illegally branded griffon, or the sudden arrival of a dragon from the nonpresent Scarlet Moon. "It seems I've greatly underestimated the situation in that country. It has been reduced to not just a hive of villains, but a land of unexplainable mysteries. I can see why the current events would force you to leave those woods behind and investigate."

"Milei said it was a much bigger problem than stray groups of outlaws."

"She's certainly right about that. There has been political turmoil brewing in the three northern countries, so few resources can be diverted to Hieizou, which has caused great frustration for the Shogun. I'm not sure how to proceed from here, but I'm glad to know you're willing to help."

Krile didn't say anything else until Durandal urged her, _"Show him that letter."_

" _Letter?"_

" _The one you received in Tsuchiya."_

"Oh… By the way," Krile murmured and went through her bag to retrieve the wax-sealed envelope. "I think you would want to see this."

Kiraki opened it and read it with deep curiosity. After he finished, he mused, "So you have no elemental affinity, and have no desire to possess a Thauma."

"That's correct."

"… I understand. There is an expectation for all soldiers to be branded with one, but I'll have to attach this letter to notify everyone else about your situation. It's not like you need one anyway, nor are you breaking any laws by not having one. The issue with your sword is a completely different matter, however."

"…"

"As long as we both keep quiet about it, and that Durandal never speaks around anyone else but the two of us, you should be all right."

They reached the doors leading to the barracks, where Kiraki's army of knights trained on practice dummies with swords and spears. Krile looked around with some degree of interest while Kiraki spoke with some brigade captains about official business. About 10 minutes later, a horseback riding knight rushed in on his steed and tumbled right off as if he was in a hurry. He panted frantically when he spotted the Minister of Justice and exclaimed, "Lord Kureha! It's urgent!"

Kiraki kneeled over him and asked, "What seems to be the matter?"

"T-The incoming train from Sumizome… I-I-It… It's…"

"Calm yourself, soldier. Take some deep breaths to compose yourself."

As the panicking man struggled to breathe properly, Krile glanced up to the sky and noticed a strange grey pillar rising in the distance. She wondered, "Is that smoke?"

"What!?" Kiraki exclaimed as he saw it too.

"Y-Yes, sir," the soldier finally said. "The train carrying the Prince of Sumizome… _exploded!_ "


End file.
